| 6 weeks 6 days 15 hours ago Squid put under the knife for public view
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(NECN: Melbourne, Australia) - The largest squid ever caught in Australian waters has been put under the knife in Melbourne, local media reported.
The 248 kilogram, 12 meter long creature was accidentally caught by the crew of a fishing trawler off Western Victoria last month.
It became entangled in a net more than 500 meters below the surface.
Scientists at the Melbourne Museum decided to do a public dissection to increase public awareness of the little known and rarely seen deep sea creatures.
It is just 30 kilograms lighter than the largest giant squid ever found, and is thought to be female and aged between 6 and 10 years.
"We'll analyze the curves in the beak growth to see if we can try and get some more accurate age estimates," said Dr Mark Norman, who led the dissection. "We've actually lifted it and found that it was 248 kilograms so that its a known weight specimen," he added.
The squid spent three weeks on ice before the dissection.
The dissection of the squid could answer some deep sea mysteries.
It has teeth that cut like a chainsaw and three hearts.
Marine experts at the Melbourne Museum are hoping the autopsy will shed light on the biology of giant squids, including their reproductive habits.
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