Hey Canada, Watch Out For Enormous Stabbing Squid

Hey Canada, Watch Out For Enormous Stabbing Squid

. . . Wait! Stop the presses! They're not enormous, they're just somewhat large. They don't stab their prey, they just chew and swallow. Maybe that sounds nitpicky--big is big and sharp is sharp,…
Squid Parasites, Part II

Squid Parasites, Part II

I was delighted to receive a message yesterday from a teacher on the Oregon coast who had seized the opportunity to dissect a Humboldt squid with her students. First--how cool is that? Good teaching…
By Request: Squid Parasites!

By Request: Squid Parasites!

Jeff writes: "[Do] squid or cephalopods have any weird parasites similar to the isopops that replace the tongues on a number of fish . . . ?" (Heh. I am still chuckling over "isopops." Although…
Northern Atlantic Suffering Lack of Squid?

Northern Atlantic Suffering Lack of Squid?

On Tuesday, BBC News' Day In Pictures included a photo of a northern bottlenose whale, washed up dead on a beach in Southern England. (The bottlenose whale is a member of the beaked whale family,…
P.S. Maybe the Giant Squid Was Dead Already

P.S. Maybe the Giant Squid Was Dead Already

Not to beat a dead squid, but a reasonable question came up in a conversation with one of my labmates today: Who's to say that the Architeuthis collected in the Gulf of Mexico this summer was alive…
I Guess I Should Mention the Giant Squid

I Guess I Should Mention the Giant Squid

Yup, they found a giant squid. And this is exactly why I get snarlish about people referring to Humboldt squid as giant squid. If you cry "giant!" every time Humboldts appear, then when you get a…
World's Cutest Squid?

World's Cutest Squid?

A Google Image search for "cute squid" returns, amidst the cartoons and handmade objects, numerous photographs of real animals: - 1 baby octopus (cute, but not a squid)- 1 dumbo octopus (cute, and it…
Squid Drama in Washington State Continues Apace

Squid Drama in Washington State Continues Apace

I'm starting to suspect that my study organism, Dosidicus gigas, is a bit of a diva. It seems like every other day there's a news story on Humboldt squid, jumbo squid, or (my favorite!) giant squid…