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SECRETS OF THE DEEP: Scientists inspecting the eye of the colossal squid at a museum in Wellington, New Zealand, yesterday. The squid's beach-ball size eyes are the biggest ever known in the animal kingdom. -- PHOTO: REUTERS
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WELLINGTON - THE largest squid ever caught began to reveal its secrets yesterday, including eyes the size of beach balls that one scientist said were likely the biggest ever known in the animal kingdom.
The 495kg colossal squid - caught accidentally by a fishing boat in Antarctic waters in February last year - is slowly thawing under the fascinated gaze of a team of scientists at the Museum of New Zealand.
While the defrosting was taking longer than expected yesterday, one of the earliest revelations were eyes measuring 27cm across - about 11 times the size of human eyes - with lenses of 10cm to 12cm in diameter.
'We saw two of the most sensational eyes possible,' said Auckland University of Technology marine biologist Steve O'Shea.
The eyes are collapsed as the squid is dead, but if it were alive, said Professor Eric Warrant of the University of Lund in Sweden, the eyes would probably measure about 40cm across, 'about the size of a beach ball'.
The size of its eyes would help the squid locate prey in its dark natural surroundings, which are 1,000m or more below the surface of the Antarctic.
The exact dimensions of the squid will not be determined until it is defrosted fully, but it is believed to be 8m or more in length.
It could be cut into calamari rings the size of tractor tires, one scientist said, according to an article on the Broadcasting and Cable website.
The sex of the squid is still to be determined, although it is believed to be a female, which will usually grow larger than a male.
But Mr O'Shea and his colleagues believe that larger squid still lurk in the southern ocean depths.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
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