BBC reveals that giant squid, no matter where they’re found or how different from each other they look, are all genetically really close to one another:
An international team of researchers investigated rare samples of the elusive animals’ DNA to reveal their family secrets.
They discovered that there is just a single species of squid with no population structure.
The findings are published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
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“Your general [giant] squid is a long, scrawny beast: it’s got a long thin body and long thin arms,” said Professor M. Thomas P. Gilbert, from the Natural History Museum of Denmark.
“But off [the coast of] Japan for example, they’re much shorter and stubbier. Their arms are fatter and much shorter.”
Prof Gilbert worked with colleagues from the University of Copenhagen and researchers from Australia, Japan, France, Ireland and Portugal to understand how the seemingly diverse squid are related.
The team took 43 tissue samples from a variety of sources: stranded animals, remains found in the stomachs of beached sperm whales and accidental by-catch. They then used DNA sequencing techniques to understand the genetic makeup of the squid.
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Results revealed that the squid are all one species.
They’re just big enough to *get around*, man.