The oceans largest creatures aren't quite as large as we often image, according to a new study.
According to a report published in the journal Peer J, humans are not very good at visualizing the size of creatures like the giant squid or whales, and media reports usually exaggerate their size too. The team of researchers from the U.S. and Canada compared popular reports and scientific reports for 25 different species of marine creatures, including whales, sharks, squids and other giant ocean dwellers, and found that most of the animals were actually smaller than what was reported.
Craig McClain, a marine biologist at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina, and coauthor of the study says, "It's human nature to tell a fishing story. In reality, we're horrible at saying what the size of any creature is, without actually taking a measurement."
For example, the giant squid is often reported by the media as reaching lengths of up to 60 feet, but the creatures rarely even reach 40 feet in length, according to McClain.
"What people think of as the biggest representatives aren't usually the most optimal" study coauthor Meghan Balk says. "It says a lot about what it means to be large. How beneficial is it to be the biggest in a big species?"
Researchers found the Lion's Mane Jellyfish to be the biggest at 120 feet, making it larger than blue whales, who grow up to 108.27 feet in length. Sperm whales came in third at 78.4 feet, followed by the whale shark at 61.68 feet and the basking shark at 40.25 feet. Trailing behind these behemoths were the giant squid at 39.37 feet, giant octopus at 32.15 feet and the giant oar fish at 26.25 feet.
The feared white shark came in ninth at 22.96 feet. McClain explained why many reports embellish the size of sharks. "Sharks that killed humans were reported as much longer than those involved in just a bite. One explanation could be that people are more likely to exaggerate the size of a more deadly animal. Or, it could be that larger sharks are more aggressive. We're not able to flesh that out."
Researchers believe that the study will bring a greater understanding of the sizes of these animals and that knowledge will help us know how to conserve these animals and their habitats. It is also interesting to note how we as humans react to these large creatures and perceive them through the rather limited knowledge we possess about some of the oceans largest creatures.
