Rare 8-Foot Giant Squid with Terrifying Thick Arms Spotted on Western Coast of Japan

Yosuke Tanaka and his wife Miki encountered an enormous sea monster, an 8-foot giant squid with terrifying thick arms, last Friday evening while scuba diving close to the Nekozaki Peninsula, Toyooka, in western Japan.

The enormous sea animal was swimming in a seaweed-filled area near the water's surface. It is extremely unusual, rare even, to see them alive, according to Tanaka.

Excited and Terrified

Yosuke's video shows the enormous squid swimming just beneath the surface of the water while its long tentacles are extended behind it. Yosuke claimed that because it had extremely thick arms, he was simultaneously extremely excited and terrified. He imagined that if he was caught in the thick long arms of the giant squid, he would be unable to flee, Newsweek reports.

The Tanakas saw it swimming and moving its long tentacles slowly, according to NHK News. About 30 minutes later, they claim, it vanished in deeper waters farther out to sea.

Such creatures, according to him, are occasionally seen along the Sea of Japan coast, but it is unusual to see pictures of one swimming.

Tanaka and his wife run the scuba diving business, Dive Resort T-style, in Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture. Tanaka claimed in a blog entry on their website, Dive Resort T-Style, that a nearby ferryman had informed him of the unusual animal.

Still Small for the Species

Tsunemi Kubodera, a National Museum of Nature and Science honorary researcher in Tokyo, estimated the age of the squid to be between one and two years old based on its size, as he told NHK News.

Tanaka asserted that the squid was relatively small for its species despite being over 8 feet long.

The giant squid can reach a length of 39 feet, according to Jon Ablett, the senior curator of mollusks and cephalopods at the Natural History Museum of London.

According to Ablett, although no fully mature specimens have been discovered, it is believed that the colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, may grow even larger than the giant squid in terms of mass and even possibly in length.

Giant Squid Rarity

It is challenging to estimate the number of giant squids because, despite their enormous size, they are notoriously hard to locate. The primary predator of the giant squid, sperm whales, was used to study the stomach contents to make the best assumption.

According to Ablett, a study by Clyde Rober and Elizabeth Shea, published in BioOne Complete, estimated that sperm whales consume up to 131 million giant squids annually.

Although giant squid can be found throughout all of the oceans of the world, they are most frequently seen in the waters off of Africa, the North Atlantic, and the islands of New Zealand and Japan. However, because they are so elusive, only relatively little is known about this species right now.

Tanaka expressed his gratitude for even having the opportunity to interact with the enormous squid once. He hopes that this will help to clarify the mystery surrounding this squid and that many divers will travel to the region, Newsweek reports.