The Seablog

5 favourite cephalopods, no.5:

Cephalopods are an amazingly diverse class of animals, but out of all of them there is one which i just can’t help loving. It isn’t the small and cute Hawaii Bobtail Squid, it isn’t the absolutely terrifying Vampyroteuthis infernalis (otherwise known as the Vampire Squid from Hell). It’s the majestic, incredibly intelligent and also somewhat terrifying Humboldt Squid, Dosidicus gigas. 

These animals can reach lengths of 1.75 (and that’s just the mantle, so it doesn’t include the head, arms or tentacles) and weigh as much as 50 kg. They hunt in shoals of up to 1500 indivudals, and usually reside between 200-700 meters.

Divers often describe them as incredibly curious animals (although this curiosity may be mistaken for agression, having a 2 meter long squid with hooked tentacles feel you up wouldn’t exactly make you feel great). They’re the only invertebrate known to hunt in shoals and communicate with each other, they even show hunting strategies. They’re almost like the killer whales of cephalopods.

Sadly, studies have found that ocean acidification may hit the Humboldt hard: it was found that if acidification continues increase at the same rate metabolic rate may decrease by as much as 30% and activity levels by almost 50% by the end of the century.

If any animal on earth, D. gigas is truly a masterpiece of evolution, and that is why it’s my favourite of all time.