Editing Giant squid (section)

== Ecology ==
=== Feeding ===
[[File:Display of sperm whale and giant squid battling in the Museum of Natural History.jpg|thumb|The dramatization of an underwater encounter between the sperm whale and giant squid, from a [[diorama]] in the Hall of Ocean Life at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]]]

Recent studies have shown giant squid feed on deep-sea fish, such as the [[orange roughy]] (''Hoplostethus atlanticus''), and other squid species.<ref name=gut>{{cite journal |author1=Bolstad, K.S. |author2=O'Shea, S. |year=2004 |title=Gut contents of a giant squid ''Architeuthis dux'' (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from New Zealand waters |journal=New Zealand Journal of Zoology |volume=31 |pages=15–21 |doi=10.1080/03014223.2004.9518354|s2cid=84948932 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Architeuthis_dux/ | title=Architeuthis dux | website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] | access-date=22 September 2019 | archive-date=22 September 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190922175206/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Architeuthis_dux/ | url-status=live }}</ref> They catch prey using the two tentacles, gripping it with serrated sucker rings on the ends. Then they bring it toward the powerful beak, and shred it with the [[radula]] (tongue with small, file-like teeth) before it reaches the [[esophagus]]. They are believed to be solitary hunters, as only individual giant squid have been caught in fishing nets. Although the majority of giant squid caught by trawl in New Zealand waters have been associated with the local [[Blue grenadier|hoki]] (''Macruronus novaezelandiae'') fishery, hoki do not feature in the squid's diet. This suggests giant squid and hoki prey on the same animals.<ref name=gut />

=== Predators and potential cannibalism ===
The known predators of adult giant squid include [[sperm whale]]s, [[pilot whale]]s,<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Aguilar de Soto, N. |author2=Johnson, M. P. |author3=Madsen, P. T. |author4=Díaz, F. |author5=Domínguez, I. |author6=Brito, A. |author7=Tyack, P. |year=2008 |title=Cheetahs of the deep sea: Deep foraging sprints in short-finned pilot whales off Tenerife (Canary Islands) |journal=Journal of Animal Ecology |volume=77 |issue=5 |pages=936–947 |pmid=18444999 |url=http://www.marinebioacoustics.com/files/2008/Soto_et_al_2008.pdf |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2656.2008.01393.x |doi-access=free |bibcode=2008JAnEc..77..936A |access-date=9 September 2013 |archive-date=23 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160623165704/http://www.marinebioacoustics.com/files/2008/Soto_et_al_2008.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7400788.stm |title=Whales are 'cheetahs of the deep' |publisher=BBC News |date=14 May 2008 |access-date=15 May 2008 |archive-date=17 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517214658/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7400788.stm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[southern sleeper shark]]s,<ref name="Cherel">{{cite journal |author1=Cherel, Yves |author2=Duhamel, Guy |title=Antarctic jaws: Cephalopod prey of sharks in Kerguelen waters 
|journal=Deep Sea Research |series=Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=17–31 |year=2004 |doi=10.1016/j.dsr.2003.09.009 |bibcode=2004DSRI...51...17C}}</ref> and in some regions [[killer whale]]s.<ref>{{cite web |year=2021 |url=https://whale-tales.org/killer-whales-take-down-giant-squid-16-2-21/ |title=Killer Whales take down Giant Squid |website=whale-tales.org |access-date=13 October 2021 |archive-date=21 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211021151056/https://whale-tales.org/killer-whales-take-down-giant-squid-16-2-21/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Juveniles may fall prey to other large deep sea predators. Because sperm whales are skilled at locating giant squid, scientists have tried to observe them to study the squid. Giant squid have also been recently discovered to presumably steal food from each other;<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/ahoy-squiddy/554954/ |title=The bloody pirate life of one of the ocean's most elusive creatures |magazine=The Atlantic |access-date=2018-03-08|archive-date=22 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231022075718/https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/03/ahoy-squiddy/554954/ |url-status=live }}</ref> in mid-to-late October 2016, a {{convert|9|m|abbr=on}} giant squid washed ashore in [[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Spain]]. The squid had been photographed alive by a tourist named Javier Ondicol shortly before its death, and examination of its corpse by the Coordinators for the Study and Protection of Marine Species (CEPESMA) indicates that the squid was attacked and mortally wounded by another giant squid, losing parts of its fins, and receiving damage to its mantle, one of its gills, and losing an eye. The intact nature of the specimen indicates that the giant squid managed to escape its rival by slowly retreating to shallow water, where it died of its wounds. The incident is the second to be documented among ''Architeuthis'' recorded in Spain, with the other occurring in [[Villaviciosa, Asturias|Villaviciosa]]. Evidence in the form of giant squid stomach contents containing beak fragments from other giant squid in Tasmania also supports the theory that the species is at least occasionally cannibalistic. Alternatively, such squid-on-squid attacks may be a result of competition for prey. These traits are seen in the [[Humboldt squid]] as well, indicating that cannibalism in large squid may be more common than originally thought.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/deep-ocean/washed-up-giant-squid-shows-signs-of-fierce-deep-sea-fight |title=Washed-up giant squid shows signs of fierce deep-sea fight |work=Earth Touch News Network |access-date=2017-09-03|archive-date=19 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161019224342/http://www.earthtouchnews.com/oceans/deep-ocean/washed-up-giant-squid-shows-signs-of-fierce-deep-sea-fight? |url-status=live }}</ref>