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Vampire Squid And The Evolution Of Cephalopod Sex

Everyone loves vampire squid, right? Their monstrous name belies their gentle nature as graceful...

Learning Science From Fiction: A Review Of Ryan Lockwood’s “Below”

In last month’s review of Preparing the Ghost, I mentioned that you can actually learn facts...

Usurped By Legend: A Review Of Matthew Gavin Frank’s ‘Preparing The Ghost’

When you read something in a book, do you believe it? You might say, “Of course not if it’s...

Squid Lady Parts

This Bobtail squid was imaged by the Deep Discover ROV in Atlantis Canyon, is less than one foot...

Danna Staaf

Cephalopods have been rocking my world since I was in grade school. I pursued them through a BA in marine biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by a PhD dissertation at... Read More »

Summer Squid Season In The Southern Hemisphere

Feb 02 2011 | comment(s)

FIS (Fish Information and Services, the "most comprehensive website for the commercial fishing industry") has a run of recent squid news.

Let's start with Illex argentinus, the Argentinian shortfin squid with a history of contention between fishers from Argentina and the Falkland Islands. After a 2009 crash, Illex rebounded somewhat in 2010 (possibly due to shifting environmental conditions), but so far the catch from the Falklands this year isn't looking good:

Everyone Loves Giant Squid

Feb 01 2011 | comment(s)

Today I am going to send you over to Deep-Sea News for your squid fix. Because Dr. M has just made the compelling case that Giant Squid Are Awesomesauce.

There's really not room for debate. (There might be room for a couple of grammatical edits.)

It is important to point out that giant squid share many of their awesome features with other, smaller squid species. Chitin-ringed suckers, an aimable siphon, esophagus-through-the-brain, and other traits may lead us to conclude that, in fact, all squid are awesomesauce.

Flying Squid Photographer

Jan 30 2011 | comment(s)

British photographer Graham Ekins snapped one of the rare photos of squid in flight:

"Capturing the flying squid is one of the highlights of my photography career," he says. I can imagine it would be!

The Essex reporter may have gotten a bit over-enthusiastic, though, claiming in the story about Ekins that

These flying squid use jet propulsion to leap out of the Pacific Ocean and soar up to 65ft into the air.

This Isn't Your Bathmat

Jan 28 2011 | comment(s)

Maggie Koerth-Baker says everyone loves cephalopods because they are AWESOME. I agree 100%.

This Seems Weird

Jan 26 2011 | comment(s)

Has anyone else heard of a "massive 20ft. octopus" washing ashore in the Bahamas last week? I hadn't until this article, which also comments on a recent octopus stranding in Portugal (presumably the individual octopuses in this case are of more modest proportions). Both are linked to a larger pattern of "animapocalypse":

Small animals all over the world have been dying in mass. Birds and fish have been documented to have died by the hundreds at the time. Brazil reported over two million fish washing ashore in one coastal city at the time.

No link between the episodes has been established, as they have

New Ammonite From An Ancient Saltwater Lake

Jan 24 2011 | comment(s)

A new fossil cephalopod has turned up in the news! It's funny cuz I was just pondering ammonites recently.

"It is a new species of squid, totally new, that has not been seen in other parts of the world," paleontologist Klaus Honninger told AFP. Honninger, director of the Meyer-Honninger Paleontology Museum in the northern city of Chiclayo, said the fossil was a large cephalopod of the extinct Baculite species, known for their long straight shells.