A giant squid specimen at the National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research in Wellington, New Zealand. Credit: NASA A
giant squid and a swordfish are similar in size but the squid's
eyes are proportionally much larger -- three times the diameter
and 27 times bigger by volume, Duke University biologist Sonke
Johnsen said in a statement. The question is why. Why do squid
need such large eyes? Johnsen and his team say they may have
found the reason: whale watching. For big squids, whose primary
predator is the sperm whale, watching whales is more about
survival than recreation. Johnsen found that the squid's large
eyes collect more light, which allows it to sense small contrast
differences in the dim light of its habitat. When sperm whales
dive down for a meal, they scatter tiny bioluminescent organisms
in their wake. That light allows squids to spot danger coming
from as far away as the length of a football field, according to
the study published online Thursday in the journal Current
Biology. Squid, ho