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[|caption] =The giant squid=

[|Kraken] Destroys All!
Our Group was curious about what kind of creatures were out there. Since the ocean covers most of the Earth and is unexplored, I thought it would be a good place to start.The [|Kraken] is a mythical creature thought to destroy innocent sailors and thier ships. As seen in Pirates of the Carribean 2 and 3. While no proof of the [|kraken] exists, a creature simialar to it known as the [|giant squid] is proven to exist. Growing to about 40 feet the [|giant squid] is a monster of the deep. media type="youtube" key="aWCiMWEtyvk" width="425" height="350" [|Caption] The Kraken attacking a ship, similar to the old stories that sailors used to tell.

What is the Giant Squid?
The giant squid's scientific name is //Architeuthis dux.// How big can the giant squid get? One quote from unmuseum says "One night during World War II a British Admiralty trawler was lying off the Maldive Islands in the Indian Ocean. One of the crew, A. G. Starkey, was up on deck, alone, fishing, when he saw something in the water: "As I gazed, fascinated, a circle of green light glowed in my area of illumination. This green unwinking orb I suddenly realized was an eye. The surface of the water undulated with some strange disturbance. Gradually I realized that I was gazing at almost point-black range at a huge squid." Starkey walked the length the of the ship finding the tail at one end and the tentacles at the other. The ship was over one hundred and seventy five feet long." (unmuseum, 2003)

The Future of Squids
The Future of squids is very odd.

"Name: Squibbon Type: Land-living cephalopod or squid Size: Ancestor: Squid Lives: In treetops Eats: Forest flish Eaten by: Megasquid Fact: Communicate by sound and by colour patterns; four long tentacles for swinging and four shorter leg-like tentacles"(The Future is Wild)

"Name: Megasquid Type: Land-living cephalopod or squid Size: 4m tall, weighs 8 tonnes Ancestor: Squid Lives: In the Northern Forest Eats: Fruit, leaves, small animals including squibbons Eaten by: Fact: Has eight legs. Because they are not warm-blooded endothermic animals like mammals, they need far less food"(The Future is Wild)

"Name: Rainbow squid Type: Cephalopod or squid Size: Mantle 20m long; arms another 20m Ancestor: Squid Lives: Near the surface of the sea Eats: Ocean flish Eaten by: Fact: Can use their changing skin cells to imitate a shoal of silver swimmers"(The Future is Wild)

You can find more information at the [|The Future is Wild] website. Keep in mind that these are just predictions and will not happen until another 200 million years.

Where do giant squids live?
Giant squids are usually found in seas near Norway, Japan, and New Zealand. They are found deep in the sea between 200 and 1000 meters under the sea. This is known as the twighlight zone and it is pitch black. They stay very deep down because their bodies cannot process oxegen in warm water and they will die if they go near the top (exeptions apply for at night and in cold waters because it is colder.)

What does the giant squid look like?
The [|giant squid] is the largest known cephalopod.The Giant squid has the largest eyes in the world (for seeing in the dark depths of the sea where it resides), they are the size of a human head. The giant squid has eight normal arms and two longer arms that are 10-12 meters long. The longer arms are like clubs with many suckers at the tips, it fires these arms at its prey and pulls it into its beak (which is concealed under its tentacles) to eat it. The giant squid also has two fins mounted on its exeptionaly large head, the fins help it move through the water. The giant squid also carries ink like other squids. Giant squids have complex brains which is why they are under extensive research. The giant squid grows very fast, they reach a mass of 500 kilograms in 3 years.

What and how does a giant squid eat?
The giant squid eats deep sea squid and fish. The giant squid grabs its food with its massive, club-like tentacles.

=The Chimaera Fish= = =

What is a chimaera fish? Where do they live? What do they look like?

What is a Chimaera?
Chimaera fish (Kie-mae-ruh) also known as [|chimaera monstrosa] are also called [|ghost sharks], rat fish and rabbitfish. The chimaera fish is also related to the ray and the shark (hence:ghost shark). the chimaera differ from sharks because their upper jaw is attached to their skull. Where do Chimarea fish live? the chimaera fishtend to live in the Atlantic ocean from Morocco, to northern to Iceland.they are deep sea fish and live 40 to 100 meters down into the dark depths of the ocean. Chimaeras lay eggs with leathery cases and differ from sharks because their upper jaws are attatched to their skulls. Like other members of the class [|Chondrichthyes], chimaeras have a [|skeleton] constructed of [|cartilage].

What do chimaeras look like?
Their skin is smooth and lacks [|scales], and their color can range from black to brownish gray.They have four [|fins], a small [|dorsal fin],a long wispy tail, and a small pointed snout. The chimaera fish lives in deep cold water to keep itself cool. the chimaera fish has been seen in 200 million old fossils and is still alive today. Its almost like living at the same time period of a T-Rex! these fish have been sen to range at the size of you hand to the size of a child's torso!

=__Fossa__= [|caption]

Summary
What is the [|fossa]? The creature shown above is a [|fossa] (FOO-sa). The fossa's scientific name is [|cryptoprocta ferox]. The [|fossa] is an [|endangered animal]. It is not known whether or not they are [|nocturnal] or not. Most fossa live on the island of [|Madagascar]. They have been seen hunting in night and day. The [|fossa] is related to the [|mongoose]. They live about 20 years, and are born toothless and blind. They can jump from tree to tree, very much like [|squirrels] can. The [|fossa] feeds on [|lemurs] and many other animals living on [|Madagascar.] "Imagine a short, stocky [|mountain lion]," as Luke Dollar, a colleague of North Carolina's Duke University, described the [|fossa.] The fossa has very interesting traits. First of all, it has a very long tail for maneuvering through all of the trees. It also has retractable claws and a dog-like snout.

Habitat
Madagascar is the only place where fossa live. They eat lemurs, their main food source, plus other smaller animals of Madagascar. However, fossa keep losing their habitat. They only have 10% of their original habitat, and because of this, the fossa are endangered.

Websites
Pickrell, John (2004-06-02). [|Tracking the Fossa, Africa's Elusive Island Predator]. //[|National Geographic] News//.Enchanted Learning. [|Fossa].