The Humboldt squid (''Dosidicus gigas''), also known as jumbo squid or jumbo flying squid, is a large, predatory

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

living in the eastern

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. It is the only known species of the genus ''Dosidicus'' of the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Ommastrephinae Ommastrephinae is a subfamily of squids under the family Ommastrephidae. Description Ommastrephinae includes the largest species of squids belonging to the family Ommastrephidae, Humboldt squid ('' Dosidicus gigas'') which can grow to in mant ...

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Ommastrephidae Ommastrephidae is a family (biology), family of squid containing three subfamilies, 11 genus, genera, and over 20 species. They are widely distributed globally and are extensively fished for food. One species, ''Todarodes pacificus'', comprised a ...

. Humboldt squid typically reach a mantle length of , making the species the largest member of its family. They are the most important squid worldwide for commercial

fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...

, with the catch predominantly landed in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

; however, a 2015 warming waters fishery collapse in the

Gulf of California The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

remains unrecovered. Like other members of the subfamily Ommastrephinae, they possess

chromatophore Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopod A cephalopod is any member o ...

s which enable them to quickly change body coloration, known as 'metachrosis' which is the rapid flash of their skin from red to white. They have a relatively short lifespan of just 1–2 years. They have a reputation for aggression toward humans, although this behavior may only occur during feeding times. They are most commonly found at depths of , from

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South America, South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main is ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. This species is spreading north into the waters of the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (PNW; ) is a geographic region in Western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though no official boundary exists, the most common ...

, in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

Taxonomy

The existence of this creature was first reported to the scientific world by the Chilean priest and

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

Juan Ignacio Molina Fr. Juan Ignacio Molina (; (June 24, 1740 – September 12, 1829) was a Chilean-Spanish Jesuit priest, natural history, naturalist, historian, translator, geographer, botanist, ornithologist, and linguist. He is usually referred to as Abate Moli ...

in 1782, who named it ''Sepia tunicata'', '' Sepia'' being the cuttlefish genus. The French naturalist

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthropol ...

renamed it ''Loligo gigas'' in 1835. In Chile,

Claude Gay Claude Gay, often named Claudio Gay in Spanish texts, (18 March 1800 – 29 November 1873), was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator. This explorer carried out some of the first investigations about Chilean flora, fauna, geology and ge ...

, another French naturalist, obtained some specimens and sent them to the

Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle The French National Museum of Natural History ( ; abbr. MNHN) is the national natural history museum of France and a of higher education part of Sorbonne University. The main museum, with four galleries, is located in Paris, France, within the Ja ...

in Paris, where it was determined that the species did not belong with ''

Loligo ''Loligo'' is a genus of squid and one of the most representative and widely distributed groups of myopsid squid. The genus was first described by Jean Baptiste Lamarck in 1798. However, the name had been used earlier than Lamarck ( Schneider, ...

'' either. In 1857 the Danish zoologist

Japetus Steenstrup Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup FRS(For) HFRSE (8 March 1813 – 20 June 1897) was a Danish zoologist, biologist, and professor. Life Born in Vang, Thy on 8 March 1813, he held a lectorate in mineralogy in Sorø until 1845 when he became a ...

proposed the new genus ''Dosidicus'' to house the species. The German zoologist George Pfeffer synonymized ''D. eschrichtii'' with ''D. gigas'' in 1912. The fossil species '' Dosidicus lomita'' is represented in statoliths from the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Lomita Marl of

, marking the earliest known occurrence of the genus.

Common names

This species is most often known as ''jumbo squid'' in English, but has also been called ''jumbo flying squid'' or ''Humboldt squid'', with the last name most popular in naturalist sources. The name Humboldt refers to the

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

, off the southwestern coast of South America, where it was first collected. A general name for this species in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

in Latin America is . Local names for it are in Chile or in Peru. They notably rapidly flash red and white when captured, earning them the nickname (meaning 'red devil') among local fishermen in

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

, Mexico.

Description

The Humboldt squid is the largest of the Ommastrephid squids, as some individuals may grow to in mantle length and weigh up to . They appear to be

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...

: on average the females mature at larger sizes than the males. Generally, the mantle (or body) constitutes about 56–62% of the animal's mass (which includes the

fins A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foil (fluid mechanics), foils that produce lift (force), lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while travelin ...

or wings), the arms and tentacles about 11–15%, the head (including

eyes An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

and

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

) about 10–13%, the outer skin (cuticle) 2.5–5.0%, the liver 4.2–5.6%, with the rest made up of the other inner organs. The gonads consist of 1.5–15.0% of the total mass. The

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by Ancient Rome, ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came t ...

(the single inner 'bone') is 0.7–1.0%. Precise ratios depend on the age, sex and sizes of the individual squid. They are propelled by water ejected through a hyponome (

siphon A siphon (; also spelled syphon) is any of a wide variety of devices that involve the flow of liquids through tubes. In a narrower sense, the word refers particularly to a tube in an inverted "U" shape, which causes a liquid to flow upward, abo ...

) and by two triangular fins. The Humboldt's two

tentacle In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

s are elastic and can lash out with remarkable speed to grab hold of prey, holding it fast with the help of a wealth of suckers on each tentacle; these then retract and the prey is drawn toward a large, razor-sharp beak.

Behavior

Humboldt squid are carnivorous marine invertebrates that move in

shoal In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material, and rises from the bed of a body ...

s of up to 1,200 individuals. They swim at speeds up to . Electronic tagging has shown Humboldt squid undergo

diel vertical migration Diel vertical migration (DVM), also known as diurnal vertical migration, is a pattern of movement used by some organisms, such as copepods, living in the ocean and in lakes. The adjective "diel" ( IPA: , ) comes from , and refers to a 24-hour ...

s, which bring them closer to the surface from dusk to dawn. Humboldt squid are thought to have a lifespan of about a year, although larger individuals may survive up to 2 years. Crittercams attached to two or three Humboldt squid revealed the species has two modes of color-generating (chromogenic) behavior: * The entire body flashes between the colors red and white at when in the presence of other squid, this behavior likely representing intraspecific signaling. This flashing can be modulated in frequency, amplitude and in phase synchronization with each other. What they are communicating to each other is unknown – it could be an invitation for sex or a warning to not get too close. * The other chromogenic mode is a much slower "flickering" of red and white waves which travel up and down the body, this is thought to be a dynamic type of

camouflage Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

which mimics the undulating pattern of sunlight filtering through the water, like sunlight on the bottom of a swimming pool. The squid appear to be able to control this to some degree, pausing or stopping it. Although these two chromogenic modes are not known in other squid species, other species do have functionally similar behaviors.

Distribution

The Humboldt squid lives at depths of in the eastern

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

(Notably in

and

), ranging from

north to

. Recently, the squid have been appearing farther north, as far as

. They have also ventured into

Puget Sound Puget Sound ( ; ) is a complex estuary, estuarine system of interconnected Marine habitat, marine waterways and basins located on the northwest coast of the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. As a part of the Salish Sea, the sound ...

. Though they usually prefer deep water, between 1,000 and 1,500 squid washed up on the

Long Beach Peninsula The Long Beach Peninsula is an arm of land on the southern coast of the state of Washington in the United States. Entirely within Pacific County, it is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the south by the Columbia River, and the east by ...

in southwest Washington in late 2004 and

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), make up one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta comprises one of the largest Phylum, phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 recognized species within over 900 Genus, genera amidst ongoing taxon ...

were a speculated cause for the late 2012 beaching of an unspecified number of juvenile squid (average length ) at

Monterey Bay Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles (120 km), accessible via California S ...

over a 2-month period. Dosidicus gigas2

Changes in distribution

Humboldt squid are generally found in the warm Pacific waters off the Mexican coast; studies published in the early 2000s indicated an increase in northern migration. The large 1997–1998 El Niño event triggered the first sightings of Humboldt squid in

. Then, during the minor El Niño event of 2002, they returned to Monterey Bay in higher numbers and have been seen there year-round since then. Similar trends have been shown off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and even Alaska, although no year-round Humboldt squid populations are in these locations. This change in migration is suggested to be due to warming waters during El Niño events, but other factors, such as a decrease in upper

trophic level The trophic level of an organism is the position it occupies in a food web. Within a food web, a food chain is a succession of organisms that eat other organisms and may, in turn, be eaten themselves. The trophic level of an organism is the ...

predators that would compete with the squid for food, could be impacting the migration shift, as well. A 2017 Chinese study found that ''D. gigas'' is affected by El Niño events in the waters off Peru. The squid populations cluster into groups less, and are thus more dispersed, during El Niño events. Additionally, during warm El Niño conditions and high water temperature the waters off Peru were less favourable for ''D. gigas''.

Ecology

Prey and feeding behavior

The Humboldt squid's diet consists mainly of small

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

(

lanternfish Lanternfish (or myctophids, from the Greek language, Greek μυκτήρ ''myktḗr'', "nose" and ''ophis'', "serpent") are small mesopelagic fish of the large family (biology), family Myctophidae. One of two families in the order Myctophiformes, ...

, in particular),

crustacean Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquatic arthrop ...

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

s, and

copepod Copepods (; meaning 'oar-feet') are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (living in the water column), some are benthos, benthic (living on the sedimen ...

s. The squid uses its barbed tentacle suckers to grab its prey and slices and tears the victim's flesh with its beak and

radula The radula (; : radulae or radulas) is an anatomical structure used by mollusks for feeding, sometimes compared to a tongue. It is a minutely toothed, chitinous ribbon, which is typically used for scraping or cutting food before the food enters ...

. They often approach prey quickly with all 10 appendages extended forward in a cone-like shape. Upon reaching striking distance, they open their eight swimming and grasping arms, and extend two long tentacles covered in sharp hooks, grabbing their prey and pulling it back toward a parrot-like beak, which can easily cause serious lacerations to human flesh. These two longer tentacles can reach full length, grab prey, and retract so fast that almost the entire event happens in one frame of a normal-speed video camera. Each of the squid's suckers is ringed with sharp teeth, and the beak can tear flesh, although they are believed to lack the jaw strength to crack heavy bone. Their behavior while feeding often includes

cannibalism Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is also well document ...

and they have been seen to readily attack injured or vulnerable squid in their shoal. A quarter of squid stomachs analyzed contained remains of other squid.Life. Extraordinary Animals, Extreme Behaviour by BBC Books, Martha Holmes & Michael Gunton, 2009, , pg 22 This behavior may account for a large proportion of their rapid growth.Squid Sensitivity
Discover Magazine April, 2003 An investigation of the stomach contents of over 2,000 squid caught outside of the

Exclusive Economic Zone An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...

off the coasts of Chile found that cannibalism was likely the most important source of food. Over half had the beaks of ''D. gigas'' in their stomachs, and ''D. gigas'' was the most common prey item. The researchers do note, however, that squid jigged in the light field around the survey vessel showed much more cannibalism. Until recently, claims of cooperative or coordinated hunting in ''D. gigas'' were considered unconfirmed and without scientific merit. However, research conducted between 2007 and 2011 indicates this species does engage in cooperative hunting. The squid are known for their speed at eating; they feast on hooked fish, stripping them to the bone before fishermen can reel them in.

Reproduction

Females lay gelatinous egg masses that are almost entirely transparent and float freely in the water column. The size of the egg mass correlates with the size of the female that laid it; large females can lay egg masses up to in diameter, while smaller females lay egg masses about in diameter. Records of egg masses are extremely sparse because they are rarely encountered by humans, but from the few masses found to date, the egg masses seem to contain anywhere from 5,000 to 4.1 million eggs, depending on size.

Relationship to humans

Fisheries

Jumbo flying squid capture production million tonnes 1980-2022

Commercially, this species has been caught to serve the European market (mainly Spain, Italy, France, and Ireland), Russia, China, Japan, Southeast Asia, and increasingly North and South American markets. It is the most popular squid in the world, as of 2019 a third of all squid hunted is this species. The method used by both artisanal fishermen as well as more industrial operations to catch the squid is known as

jigging Jigging is the practice of fishing with a jig, a type of weighted fishing lure. A jig consists of a heavy metals, heavy metal (typically lead) fishing sinker, sinker with an attached fish hook that is usually obscured inside a soft plastic bai ...

. Squid jigging is a relatively novel method of fishing in the Americas. It is done by

handlining Handline fishing, or handlining, is a fishing technique where a single fishing line is held in the hands, rather than with a fishing rod like the usual angling, of which handlining is a subtype. Handlining is not to be confused with handfishing, ...

by artisanal fishermen, or by using mechanical jiggers. Jigging involves constantly jerking the line up and down to simulate prey; a reel with an elliptical or oval-shaped hub helps with this. Squid jigging is done at night, using bright overhead lights from the fishing boats which reflect brightly off the jigs and

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

in the seawater, luring the squid toward the surface to feed. The seem to prefer striking at the jigs from adjacent shadowed areas, especially the shade under the hull of the boat. Often as many as 8 to 12 jigs are on snoods on one handline, and many more are used on automated squid jigging systems. The lines are hung anywhere from in depth, depending on the power of the lamps used. The jigs are called ''poteras'' in Spanish. Different types of jigs are suitable for either handlining or for mechanical jigging for jumbo squid. They are made from

bakelite Bakelite ( ), formally , is a thermosetting polymer, thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from a condensation reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. The first plastic made from synthetic components, it was developed by Belgian chemist ...

and/or

stainless steel Stainless steel, also known as inox, corrosion-resistant steel (CRES), or rustless steel, is an iron-based alloy that contains chromium, making it resistant to rust and corrosion. Stainless steel's resistance to corrosion comes from its chromi ...

, and measure in length. Jigs can have a single axis, or one to three 'arms' (''ejes'') which wave around when the jig is jerked, and a series of crowns (''coronas'') of bristle-like wire-hooks, the hooks lacking barbs, making up the tail. The body of the jigs is usually phosphorescent, but glow-in-the-dark

lures Loures () is a village on the island of Crete in Greece, located in the municipality of Gortyn (until 2011 in the municipality of Kofinas) of Heraklion regional unit, at the northern edge of the Messara Plain. It is by road south of Heraklion cit ...

may be attached to them. Jigs are extremely selective, not only can one type of jig attract only squid, often the jigs can select for a single species of squid, and even specific sizes of that species. The more arms and crowns, the more hooks, the higher the chances of snagging and actually reeling in the squid. Since the 1990s, the most important areas for landings of Humboldt squid are Chile (), Mexico (), and Peru (2), in the period 2005–2007. Based on 2009 national fisheries data, in Mexico this species represents 95% of the total recorded catch of squid. 88% of this is caught off the coasts of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

and

Baja California Sur Baja California Sur, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur, is a state in Mexico. It is the 31st and last state to be admitted, in 1974. It is also the second least populated Mexican state and the ninth-largest state by ...

As food

Because the flesh of the animals is saturated with

ammonium chloride Ammonium chloride is an inorganic chemical compound with the chemical formula , also written as . It is an ammonium salt of hydrogen chloride. It consists of ammonium cations and chloride anions . It is a white crystalline salt (chemistry), sal ...

( salmiak), which keeps them neutrally buoyant in seawater, the animal tastes unpleasantly salty, sour, and bitter when fresh. To make the squid more palatable for the frozen squid market, freshly caught Humboldt squid are commercially processed by first mechanically tenderizing them, dropping them in icy water with 1% mixture of lactic and

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...

for three hours, then washed, then soaked in another vat with a 6% brine solution for three hours. There is also a method for home cooks to neutralize the unpleasant taste. Compared to other types of seafood, Humboldt squid is inexpensive in Pacific South America, retailing around US$0.30/kg in Peru, and about US$2.00/kg in Chile, in the early 2010s. In Chile the squid is eaten in '' chupes'' and ''

paila marina ''Paila marina'' is a traditional Chilean seafood soup or light stew usually served in a paila (earthenware bowl). It usually contains a shellfish stock base cooked with different kinds of shellfish and Fish as food, fish. These are complemented ...

''. In Peru, the practice of making ''

ceviche Ceviche, cebiche, sebiche, or seviche () is a cold dish consisting of fish or shellfish marinated in citrus and seasonings. Different versions of ceviche are part of the culinary cultures of various Latin American countries along the Pacific O ...

'' from cheap squid began in the poorer parts of

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

when the meat became available in the 1990s, and has since spread to

Cuzco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire unti ...

. It is sold on the street in food carts, as well as ''cevicherias'', restaurants dedicated to this cuisine. In the United States it is made into 'squid steaks'.

Aggression toward humans

Numerous accounts have the squid attacking fishermen and divers. Their coloring and aggressive reputation have earned them the nickname ''diablos rojos'' (red devils) from fishermen off the coast of Mexico, as they flash red and white when struggling on a line. Although Humboldt squid have a reputation of being aggressive toward humans, some disagreement exists on this subject. Research suggests these squid are aggressive only while feeding; at other times, they are quite passive. Some scientists claim the only reports of aggression toward humans have occurred when reflective diving gear or flashing lights have been present as a provocation. Roger Uzun, a veteran scuba diver and amateur underwater videographer who swam with a swarm of the animals for about 20 minutes, said they seemed to be more curious than aggressive. In circumstances where these animals are not feeding or being hunted, they exhibit curious and intelligent behavior. Recent footage of shoals of these animals demonstrates a tendency to meet unfamiliar objects aggressively. Having risen to depths of below the surface to feed (up from their typical diving depth, beyond the range of human diving), they have attacked deep-sea cameras and rendered them inoperable. Humboldt squid have also been observed engaging in swarm behavior when met by the lights of submersibles, suggesting that they may follow or are attracted to light. Reports of recreational scuba divers being attacked by Humboldt squid have been confirmed.

Model organism for early marine science in Latin America

In Chile, at the end of the 50s and early 60s, electrophysiological and neurophysiological studies were carried out by the Montemar Institute of Marine Biology, in Valparaiso, Chile. The remarkable size of the

squid giant axon The squid giant axon is the very large (up to 1.5 mm in diameter; typically around 0.5 mm) axon that controls part of the water jet propulsion system in squid. It was first described by L. W. Williams in 1909, but this discovery was fo ...

and squid giant synapse possessed by the Humboldt squid made it ideal for manipulative work in the laboratory. This research was chronicled in the documentary

Conservation

A 2008 study predicted that

ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth's ocean. Between 1950 and 2020, the average pH of the ocean surface fell from approximately 8.15 to 8.05. Carbon dioxide emissions from human activities are the primary cause of ...

will lower the Humboldt squid's metabolic rate by 31% and activity levels by 45% by the end of the 21st century. It also predicted that the squid would not be able to spend as much of the day in deeper and colder waters, as a larger proportion of the ocean would fall into the

oxygen minimum zone The oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), sometimes referred to as the shadow zone, is the zone in which oxygen saturation in seawater in the ocean is at its lowest. This zone occurs at depths of about , depending on local circumstances. OMZs are found wor ...

. A more recent study, however, provided empirical and theoretical evidence that the squid metabolism was unaffected by ocean acidification.

In popular media

The Humboldt squid was featured in the final episode of the 2009

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ''Last Chance to See'' with

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

and

Mark Carwardine Mark Carwardine ( IPA: /kɑː'wɔːdiːn/ ; born 9 March 1959) is a British conservationist who achieved widespread recognition with his 20-year conservation project – '' Last Chance to See'' – which involved round-the-world expeditions wi ...

. The episode was about blue whales, but the presenters interviewed fishermen who talked about the exploding ''diablo rojo'' population in the

Sea of Cortez The Gulf of California (), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Vermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja California peninsula from ...

and human attacks, and showed a squid trying to take a bite of a protectively clad forearm. In 2016 the squid featured in various television shows. ''Man Eating Super Squid: A Monster Invasion'' on the National Geographic Wild channel explored various attacks by Humboldt squid in Mexico. In the show, the squid is referred to as a real-life

kraken The kraken (, from , "the crookie") is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, per its etymology something akin to a cephalopod, said to appear in the Norwegian Sea off the coast of Norway. It is believed that the legend of the Kraken may h ...

and as "a global threat". The second show was ''River Monsters: Devil of the Deep'', where show host

Jeremy Wade Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is a British television presenter, an author of books on angling, and a biologist. He is known for his television series '' River Monsters'', ''Mighty Rivers'' and ''Dark Waters''. He is regarded as one of th ...

talks to fishermen allegedly attacked by the squid in the Sea of Cortez, and then catches the animals off the coast of Peru. In the British ,

mail The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letter (message), letters, and parcel (package), parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid ...

-clad divers plan to capture a Humboldt squid by hand in the Pacific Ocean, but are prevented from doing so due to bad weather. In

BBC Earth BBC Earth is a brand used by BBC Studios since 2009 to market and distribute the BBC's natural history content to countries other than the United Kingdom. BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the public service broadcaster. BBC Earth commercia ...

's ''

Blue Planet II ''Blue Planet II'' is a 2017 British nature documentary series on marine life produced as a co-production between the BBC Natural History Unit, BBC America, Tencent, WDR, France Télévisions and CCTV-9 in partnership with The Open Universit ...

'' the squid's cannibalistic pack hunting was captured on film for the first time.

References

External links

SQUID4KIDS
free of charge squid for dissection, Gilly Lab
Squidfish.net
forum on all things squid {{Taxonbar, from1=Q925444, from2=Q61678304 Ommastrephinae Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Marine molluscs of North America Cephalopods of North America Cephalopods of South America Molluscs of Chile Fauna of California Molluscs of Mexico Invertebrates of Peru Fauna of Tierra del Fuego Cephalopods described in 1835