But the squid's titanic reputation is slowly being deflated, thanks in part to a new study that says the creature is no more than a sluggish, gelatinous drifter.

The first study of the colossal squid's metabolic system shows that the squid's energy demands likely dictate a slow, aimless existence. The findings match with the initial conclusions of scientists who dissected a captured squid in 2008.

"We already knew it was a kind of gelatinous, soft animal," said marine biologist Rui Rosa of the University of Lisbon in Portugal, who led the study team.

The new data show "not an active or a fearsome predator, but one