Giant squid beaks: implications for systematics

The systematic position of the giant squid Architeuthis remains unresolved but comparison of beak morphometrics is an approach that has not been attem pted before. Additional data for the relationship between mantle length (ML ) and lower beak rostral length (LRL) suggest that Architeuthis sp. in the North Atlantic, South Africa and New Zealand are parts of the same asymptot ic relationship Comparison of beak dimensions of Architeuthis from the Nort h Atlantic, South Africa and New Zealand with those of two distinct species of Todarodes, from the Mediterranean and southern Africa, indicate that th ere may be only one species of Architeuthis in these three regions. No cons istent morphological evidence has yet been found to indicate more than one species of Architeuthis in the Atlantic or in the southern hemisphere.