The dissection of the giant squid  – Steve O’Shea and Tsunemi Kubodera using the endoscope to examine the stomach to see if there are any contents before the specimen is cut open.

This is the gill – we are injecting ink into the blood vessels to show them more clearly:

Nidamental gland (arrow):

This specimen is a female, but is not fully mature – the nidamental glands are not fully developed. These glands produce the gelatinous material that holds the egg mass together.

The stomach (above), as with most giant squids caught, is completely empty apart from a few nematode parasites. One theory is that the giant squid are coming into New Zealand waters to breed and do not feed during this period.

The branchial heart can be seen at the center of this next image. The white globular tissue either side are the ovaries, and the large inflated structure at the bottom left is the caecum.

 

 

 

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