Shellfish and Molluscs 3.1 WORLD
Which abyssal mollusk has the largest eyes in the entire animal kingdom, up to the size of a basketball?
75% of players answered correctly.
THE CORRECT ANSWER: The colossal squid
The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is a gigantic invertebrate living in the icy depths of the Southern Ocean. This abyssal predator holds the absolute record for the largest eye in the entire animal kingdom, with a diameter measured up to twenty-seven centimeters. This exceptional visual adaptation is crucial for surviving in the total darkness of the abyss, located between a thousand and two thousand meters deep. Their huge eyes are designed to capture every particle of bioluminescent light and spot the silhouette of sperm whales, their main predators, as they move phytoplankton. In addition to its phenomenal vision, this cephalopod has formidable pivoting hooks on its tentacles. Long mysterious and known only from remains found in the stomachs of whales, the colossal squid remains one of the most fascinating and least observed marine organisms on our planet by biologists.