Deep sea diva leggy but stiff

As calamari go, the new giant squid on display at the Georgia Aquarium would make one heck of an appetizer.

The aquarium unveiled the deep sea creature —- bigger than a refrigerator, longer than a totem pole and the subject of centuries of monster tales —- on Tuesday in its Cold Water Quest gallery.

Its presence is a departure for the aquarium, which normally sticks to live fish that swim and float to amuse and amaze, not dead animals preserved in water and rubbing alcohol.

Bruce Carlson, the aquarium’s chief science officer, said the giant squid is special.

“This is something completely different for us,” he said. “This will make an impression on kids for years to come. It is so totally alien looking. This is a huge creature.”

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History is lending the squid, which scientists think weighed 450 pounds and was nearly 30 feet long when it was alive, to the aquarium for about two years. It was found dead on a beach at Massachusetts’ Plum Island National Wildlife Refuge in 1980.

The aquarium has encased it in a specially constructed nine-foot-long wood and fiber glass container.

Carlson said giant squids are fascinating because few have ever seen them in the great deep, their natural habitat, because it’s hard to reach.

“We only get these remains when they die and wash up on shore,” he said.