Scientists have deciphered the genome of an ancient giant squid

Giant squids are extremely rare; science knows of no cases where they were caught alive.

This means that their biological characteristics, the structure of their limbs and body, as well as their method of reproduction still remain a mystery.

The only way to get an idea ofthe biology of the giant squid of the Architeuthis dux species remained to decipher their DNA - now scientists were able to obtain the complete genome sequence of one representative of the species.

The analysis showed that the Architeuthis dux genome contains approximately 2.7 billion gene pairs - about 90% more than the human genome.

Researchers note that important genes forthe development of living organisms was present in the DNA of a giant squid in only one instance - this means that for its unusually large size is not responsible for duplication of the entire genome, as is often the case with an evolutionary increase in the size of vertebrates.

Previously, Russian scientists created a biosignal simulator that attracts squid and will increase their catch.