Squid Fail
Point 1: The Giant Squid is Architeuthis dux. The Humboldt (or the Red Devil or Jumbo) Squid is Dosidicus gigas
Point 2: The Humboldt Squid while large at ~2m in length and 45kg is not as large as the Giant Squid at 10-14m in length and 200-300kg.
Point 3: The Humboldt Squid can be found at depths of 0-1000m. The Giant Squid, while its true depth range is unknown, is likely deeper, i.e. you will probably not find it in scuba diving depths.
Point 4: The Humboldt Squid is found in high densities along the California coast. You can probably see them on a dive or catch them fishing. The Giant Squid remains elusive to scientist and the public. You can cannot see them diving and rarely (i.e. almost never) catch them fishing.
Point 5: The Humboldt Squid is not in the same genus or indeed the same family as the Giant Squid.
Point 6: To summarize the Humboldt Squid is not the Giant Squid.
Point 7: To say a Humboldt Squid is giant is fine, to call a Humboldt Squid a Giant Squid is wrong.
Point 8: If you are a member of the press (Not the New York Times! I expected better), please get your @#$% together. Its called research and it is is what you are supposed to do before you write your piece. You can see additional fun here. So no, thousands of Giant Squids did not wash ashore after an earthquake and Giant Squid are not invading the waters off Southern California.
Point 9: And don’t even get me started on all that is wrong with this video. I will leave that for commentors.
Date Posted: July 20, 2009 at 8:03 PM
July 20, 2009 at 10:41 PMJason
Well said, sir, well said.
How long do you suppose it will be before they start calling July 2009 “The Summer of the Squid”? (Personally, I prefer “Squidvasion ‘09!)
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July 20, 2009 at 11:18 PMKevin Z
I don’t understand the link between earthquake and Squidvasion. It makes no sense. Isn’t it just coincidence? Or have hypotheses been tested and the results in with P<0.05?
Jumbo squid are commonly found in southern CA. I think did a range expansion story on them once. Oh yeah, here is it http://deepseanews.com/2007/07/humboldt-are-here-and-theyre-hungry/. From July 25, 2007.
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July 21, 2009 at 12:16 AMChrisM
H! You tell em’ Craig!
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July 21, 2009 at 3:40 AMNickD
I’m with Kevin. Why on earth would an earthquake be expected to cause squid to wash up? I’m not even asking for P<0.05, any kind of plausible hypothesis of how these two events could be linked would be be fascinating. Any (creative) ideas?
Who knows what will happen when the solar eclipse occurs over the Pacific. Perhaps well will have an invasion of the real giant squid?
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July 21, 2009 at 6:32 AMJason
Well, we already know what would happen when an H-bomb goes off in the Pacific.
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July 21, 2009 at 6:33 AMJason
The link would help…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNRavm9yc4M
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July 21, 2009 at 9:09 AMCheryl’s Mewsings » Blog Archive » Know Your Squid
[...] Deep Sea News tries (probably in vain) to teach journalists the difference between a giant squid and a Giant Squid. [...]
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July 21, 2009 at 2:09 PMThe Science Pundit
At least they didn’t call them Colossal Squid.
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July 21, 2009 at 2:28 PMSteve O’Shea
Bizarre; there’s been no reference to the size of Humboldt squid and London double decker buses yet. Thanks Craig – this ‘giant squid’ invasion dribble drives me (more) mental!
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July 21, 2009 at 4:31 PMJosé
I know that another name for them is the Jumbo Flying Squid. Have they actually been observed getting airborne, or are they so named because they’re closely related to smaller ones that do?
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July 21, 2009 at 5:03 PMPiglet squid | Cute n Tiny
[...] Squid Fail | Deep Sea News [...]
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August 1, 2009 at 11:37 AMHumboldt Squid | Headline News
[...] the evidence is unclear about what effect the jumbo (incorrectly referred to as … Squid FailPoint 2: The Humboldt Squid while large at about 2m in length and 45kg is not as large as the Giant [...]
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September 25, 2009 at 12:19 AMDanna Staaf
Thank you so much. As a student of Humboldt squid who was (coincidentally) in La Jolla to watch it all go down this summer, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve referenced this post. Well said indeed.
And now NOAA’s announcement of an Architeuthis in the Gulf of Mexico has happened to coincide with media kerfuffle over Dosidicus in the Pacific Northwest, and headlines like “Giant Squid Found in Gulf, Oregon” are causing me to gnash my teeth.
Epic squid fail.
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