Facts that are Fun!
Names! Dosidicus gigas has several interesting and exciting
names that stem from its remarkable features.
Flying Squid- These marine dwellers are part of the flying squid family, Ommastrephidae, members of this family are known to literally fling themselves out of the water in order to avoid being preyed upon. This is incredibly impressive act is possible because D. gigas can jet out water at very fast speeds.
Jumbo Squid- This
name really is not fooling anyone; Dosidicus gigas is a huge
squid. Even in its scientific name “gigas” means giant in Latin.
They can get up to 2 meters in length and weigh over 45
kilograms (marinebio.org)! What is especially impressive is that
D. gigas gets to this size in about a 1.5-2 year lifespan.
Red Devil (Diablo Rojo)- Using well-developed chromatophores, the Jumbo squid is able to change into a variety of different colors. “Diablos Rojo” stems from the common occurrence of the bright red color Mexican fisherman see when they catch them. Another point is that these aggressive predators can most definitely be described as Devilish by those who have ever made one angry as seen in this video here.
Humboldt Squid- A curious biologist may ask
themselves if all their other nicknames have so far been about
certain traits or attributes, what makes this exciting animal a
“Humbold
t”? The name actually stems from where these squid live.
Their habitat includes the Humboldt Current off the coast of
South America. However, they have currently been found much
farther north, even in Alaska! This lends evidence to possible
ecological concerns such as warming oceans that could be
affecting this species.
If you are interested and want to learn more about the Humboldt squid, there are a ton of great and interesting videos posted here! Check it out! Also some truly amazing reasearch has been done the the Humboldt squid, for more information visit Gillylab.com.