The Giant squid is one of the largest invertebrate and animal species. The only larger species of squid is the colossal squid. Most scientists believe that there is only one species of giant squid although some researchers believe there are almost 8 species. There is no agreement since it is so hard to track because it lives deep in the ocean and there are very few specimen already. It belongs to the genus Architeuthis in the family Architeuthidae of the order Teuthida to the class Cephalopoda. It is under the phylum Mollusca. Animals in this phylum need at least one of the following: a radula, mantle, or ctenidia. A giant squid has a mantle, eight arms and two longer tentacles (longest known tentacles of any cephalopod). The arms and tentacles make up of the squid's great length, making it much lighter than its chief predator, the sperm whale. Giant squids' mantles are not known to exceed 2.25 m (7.4 ft) and the length of the squid excluding its tentacles rarely exceeds 5 m (16 ft) , so their size is often exaggerated. Since we cannot track them well we know very little about their reproduction cycle, but they definitely reproduce sexually. Little genetic variations through giant squid individuals suggests that there is only one species of giant squid. I wonder if there is a better way for us to learn more about them. Why is there only one species?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_squid
http://ocean.si.edu/giant-squid
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