Why did it take so long to find giant squids? - Anna Rothschild

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: SF Huang

In 1873, two fishermen off the coast of Newfoundland

1873 年，在紐芬蘭海岸 附近的兩位漁民

glimpsed what they thought was a submerged shipwreck.

瞥見了一樣東西，他們以為 是浮出來的沉船殘駭。

But when they probed the mass, it moved—

但是當他們去察看 這塊東西時，它動了，

and huge serpentine appendages soon besieged their boat.

巨大的蛇形肢體 馬上就纏繞住他們的船。

One fisherman took an axe to the animal, and it disappeared in a cloud of ink.

一位漁民用斧頭砍向這隻動物，

牠便消失在一片墨水中。

What remained were two long limbs—

留下了兩條長肢——

definitive evidence in a collection of clues that would only continue to grow.

為不斷增加的線索 再添一項確鑿證據。

Over time, it became clear that giant squids were more than mythical monsters.

隨著時間經過，人們逐漸發現 巨型烏賊不止是神話中的怪物。

People found sizable specimens washed ashore,

被人發現的巨型樣本 有的是被沖上海岸，

caught in nets, and at the sea’s surface,

有的是被魚網撈起， 有的是浮上海面。

and observed sperm whales with sucker-shaped scars

也有人觀察到的抹香鯨 身上有吸盤狀的傷疤，

and large beaks in their stomachs.

並在胃中發現大型的喙。

But it wasn’t until recent decades that scientists actually found

但要到近幾十年，科學家

才真正在巨型烏賊的天然棲息地 發現活生生的巨型烏賊。

living giant squids in their natural habitat.

So, what do we really know about these creatures?

所以，我們對這些生物 有什麼確切的了解？

Well, interestingly, one thing we've gathered is that they might not even be

很有趣的是，

就我們所知，牠們可能 還不是世界上最大的烏賊。

the biggest squids out there.

There are hundreds of squid species inhabiting almost all parts of the ocean,

幾乎在海洋各處都有烏賊， 種類有數百種，

ranging from the size of a thumbnail

小到只有指甲那麼大，

to more than seven times the length of a human.

大到長度為人類身高的七倍。

All squids are carnivores and share the same basic body plan,

所有的烏賊都是肉食動物， 且基本身體構造都相同，

including a muscular mantle that covers their internal organs, a sharp beak,

包括一層覆蓋內臟的肌肉外膜、

一個尖銳的喙、

eight arms, and two tentacles specialized for capturing prey.

八隻腕，以及兩隻專門 用來捕捉獵物的觸腕。

The smallest squids eat things like tiny shrimp,

最小的烏賊會吃小蝦等等，

while larger ones can feast on fish using their powerful beaks.

而較大的烏賊則可以 靠強大的喙來吃魚。

The Humboldt squid’s bite force, for example,

比如，美洲大赤魷的咬合力

is strong enough to shatter Kevlar plates.

強到足以粉碎防彈板。

And the suckers on the giant squid’s long, clubbed tentacles

巨型烏賊的長型觸腕 尾端較粗，上面有吸盤，

are encircled by sharp, teeth-like protrusions

且環繞著像牙齒般銳利的突起物，

that help them grip prey like deep sea fish and other squids.

協助牠們抓住獵物， 如深海魚類或其他烏賊。

Giant squids live in the cold, dark, high pressure twilight zone.

巨型烏賊生活在寒冷、 黑暗、高壓的暮光帶。

It's extremely unlikely you'd ever encounter one,

你能遇到巨型烏賊的機率微乎其微，

since you'd be very out of your depth down there.

因為那深度已經遠超過 你能承受的範圍了。

We don’t know exactly why giant squids are so big—

我們還無法確切知道 為什麼巨型烏賊會這麼大——

but the phenomenon fits with a pattern of deep-sea gigantism,

但這個現象符合深海巨型生物的模式：

where certain deep-sea species dwarf their shallow-living relatives.

某些深海物種的體型 會遠大過牠們的淺海親戚。

Perhaps because food down there is scarce,

也許因為深海的食物很稀少，

large animals that can cover more ground and store more food are favored.

能覆蓋更大範圍並儲存更多 食物的大型動物更容易生存。

Giant squids’ size could also give them an anti-predator advantage,

巨型烏賊的體型也讓牠們具有 防禦捕食性動物的優勢，

while the deep’s cool temperatures help them manage their metabolic rates.

而深海的寒冷溫度 有助於牠們控制新陳代謝率。

Innovations over the past 150 years—

過去一百五十年來的創新技術——

from dredges and bathyspheres

從拖網和球形潛艇，

to untethered and remotely operated submersibles—

到無繩索且遠端操控的潛水器——

have enabled peeks into the deep.

都讓我們能夠窺見大海深處。

And yet, it wasn’t until 2004

但，一直到 2004 年，

that researchers actually saw a giant squid in its natural habitat.

研究人員才真正在巨型烏賊的 自然棲息地看到了一隻巨型烏賊。

Then finally, in 2012, scientists lured a giant squid and got it on video.

終於，

在 2012 年，科學家成功地誘出 一隻巨型烏賊並拍攝到牠。

They used a stealth camera system fitted with a device

他們使用隱形攝影系統，

搭配一個裝置來模仿 受到攻擊的生物發光水母。

mimicking a bioluminescent jellyfish under attack.

The system had no thrusters, keeping it unobtrusively quiet.

這個系統沒有推進器， 因此能保持非常安靜。

And it only projected beams of red light— undetectable to most deep-sea dwellers.

且它只會投射出紅光束——

大部分深海生物都感測不到紅光束。

Both encounters revealed that giant squids are not sit-and-wait predators,

兩次相遇都證明，巨型烏賊 並非坐守型的捕食性動物。

as previously suspected.

打破過去的假設。

Instead, they’re active hunters that use their basketball-sized eyes

牠們反而是主動的獵殺者，

會用牠們和籃球一樣大的眼睛 來追蹤牠們的獵物，

to stalk their prey

before projecting their tentacles and snatching animals up to 10 meters away.

然後才伸出牠們的觸腕，瞬間 抓住遠至十公尺外的動物。

But many questions still stand.

但還有很多問題還沒解答。

We know sperm whales eat giant squids,

我們知道抹香鯨會吃巨型烏賊，

but it’s unclear how fierce the fight is

但不清楚牠們之間的打鬥有多激烈，

and if the squids ever stand much of a chance of escaping.

以及烏賊是否有脫身的機會。

Extrapolating off the number of giant squid beaks in whale bellies,

根據鯨魚腹中有多少 巨型烏賊嘴來推斷，

one estimate placed the global giant squid population at around 4 million.

估計全球有四百萬隻巨型烏賊。

It seems they mate when a male injects sperm packets into a female’s arm—

牠們的交配方式似乎是由雄烏賊 將精子包注入雌烏賊的腕中——

but exactly how they find each other and what happens after are uncertain.

但還無法確切知道牠們如何找到 彼此以及之後會發生什麼事。

Giant squids are globally distributed,

巨型烏賊分佈在全球，

but they’re mostly missing from the planet’s polar regions,

但大部分的極地區域卻沒有巨型烏賊。

one of which happens to be where another humongous squid species lurks:

這些極地區域之一剛好就是 另一種巨型魷魚物種潛伏的地方：

the elusive colossal squid.

難以捉摸的南極中爪魷。

Far fewer specimens have been collected,

目前收集到的樣本數量還太少，

and they’ve yet to be seen or documented in their habitat.

且還沒有在牠們的棲息地 目擊到或記錄到牠們的蹤影。

But we know they’re from a completely different family than giant squid—

但我們知道牠們和巨型烏賊 是不同科的——

evidence that gigantism independently evolved more than once among squids.

證據顯示，魷魚類的生物 發生不只一次的獨立巨型演化。

Their limbs are shorter than giant squids’,

牠們的肢體比巨型烏賊短，

but their mantles are larger, making them up to twice as heavy.

但牠們的套膜更大， 以致於牠們重量高達兩倍。

And unlike the giant squid’s toothy tentacles,

且不像巨型烏賊的觸腕有牙齒，

colossal squids have hooked, swiveling sucker barbs.

南極中爪魷有勾狀的旋轉吸盤刺。

Much remains mysterious about these animals.

這些動物還有許多未解的謎。

But we know they’re down there,

但我們知道牠們就在黑暗的 海底深處守著牠們的秘密。

guarding their secrets in the deep, dark sea.