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Mire Squid
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Name:
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Gigantus leviapus
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Abilities and Weapons:
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tentacles, senses, strength, ink, beak, agility, endurance, stamina, stealth
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Occupation:
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giant freshwater cephalopod
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Home:
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Skull Island
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First Appearance:
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Kong: Skull Island
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Diet:
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Omnivore
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Status:
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alive
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Gigantus leviapus, also known as Mire Squid, River Devil, Red Devil or River Monster, is a 27-33 meters long species of giant saltwater cephalopod that is found on Skull Island. The animal appeared in movie "Kong: Skull Island".
Appearance[]
Mire Squids are solitary ambush predators that lurk in the lakes of Skull Island for unsuspecting prey. They hunt by waiting until their prey have come close enough. The Mire Squid can stealthily move through the water to avoid being spotted from most prey and predators.
The Mire Squid's entire body is red in color. Mire Squid has a rounded bulbous head that is similar in appearance to that of an octopus. Like other cephalopods, the creature exhibits deimatic behavior when threatened, expelling a thick cloud of black ink that is heated within the furnace-like temperatures of its mantal chambers. In this way, the Mire Squid defend itself when threatened from attacking predators while boiling them alive. Its beak-like jaws, usually hidden within the rubbery flesh of its huge, bulbous head, are mounted within a complex muscle bed that enables them to rotate like fan blades. Hunting beneath the surface, the creature will swirl these jaws into a centrifuge, stirring up a vortex-like whirlpool that sucks prey down into its gaping mouth. It also possesses eight incredibly long, thin, powerful and highly flexible tentacles that can constrict around larger creatures, such as Kong. The Mire Squids' endurance might be high since one of them is shown taking multiple hits from Kong, even after some of its arms got pulled off. They may have high stamina in order to exhau
st their prey from struggling.
According to Monarch's superspecies profile of the Mire Squid, it is classified as a "megalopod" under the sub-division of Architeuthis (the giant squid). The report states that the initial hypothesis was that the Mire Squid was a distant cousin of the Great Pacific Octopus with some notable evolutionary mutations. However, the Monarch report implies that it might be a result of geothermal gigantism that is seen in Skull Island's creatures, though the report also states that a more detailed geothermal study must be conducted to understand the environmental factors that lead to this gigantism.
History[]
Kong: Skull Island[]
Kong consuming a Mire Squid
While drinking from a lake, Kong realized that one Mire Squid was lurking near him. Kong punched the water, leading the beast's tentacles to erupt from the water and wrap around Kong. After struggling with the Mire Squid's tentacles, Kong was able to stomp on its head and crush it. Kong tore off some of the Mire Squid's tentacles and ate them, then dragged the creature's carcass away.
Trivia[]
- Kong's battle with the Mire Squid may have been a reference to his brief fight with the Giant Octopus in "King Kong vs. Godzilla".
- Kong devouring the slain Mire Squid is a rare instance of a kaiju eating another: while Godzilla was stated to be a "predator" of the MUTO he does not consume their remains after they are killed. In a deleted script of "Godzilla vs. Biollante" however, Godzilla devours Deutalios.
- In the official novelization, another Mire Squid attacks and tries to eat Slivko before it has one of its arms cut off by San Lin and is finished off with a flare to its ink sac, killing it.
- One of the Mire Squid's alternate names, the Red Devil, is likely to be a reference to a commonly-used nickname given to the real life Humboldt squid, one of the largest species of cephalopods alive today.