Foraging at all times of the day and night, but interspersing their feeding with periods of rest that last between one and eight hours, a sperm whale could eat so much as a ton of squid a day.

A) between one and eight hours, a sperm whale could eat so
B) between one and eight hours, sperm whales can eat as
C) between one and eight hours, sperm whales could eat as
D) from one to eight hours, sperm whales could eat so
E) from one to eight hours, a sperm whale can eat so

Hi Experts,

I am not clear with the usage of as much as and so much as here.

Also,are both idioms correct here ..
I understand some sleeps between X from Y hours.
I think in spoken language we do use ..someone slept from 2 am to 10 am.(just for example)

Please help!!