Animals, features and articles | Educational Science

Dec 11, 2012

Squidlike Creatures Turn Left to Avoid Predators

Smelling the scents of predators may help the cuttlefish brain prepare for quick escapes before it even hatches, new research finds. The study helps explain why these squidlike cephalopods (and perhaps other animals) show differences between the two sides of their brains and bodies — known as lateralization. Lateralization is...

Dec 14, 2012

Image Gallery: Humboldt Squid Stranding

Monterey (Image credit: arunkumud | Flickr.com)On October 9, Humboldt squid began washing ashore en masse along coastline in Monterey County, Calif. Mysterious Phenomenon (Image credit: Wardill, Gonzalez-Bellido, Crook & Hanlon, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)Scientists had noticed such strandings in many squid species for decades, but why...

Jan 8, 2013

Mysterious Giant Squid Finally Caught on Film

The notoriously elusive giant squid has been filmed for possibly the first time in its natural habitat after a Moby Dick-style hunt for the deep-sea beast. A Japanese-led team filmed the silvery cephalopod last year off the Ogasawara Islands, about 620 miles (1,000 kilometers) south of Tokyo, according to news...

Mar 19, 2013

Release the Kraken! Giant Squid Photos

'It is a Whopper:' Giant Squid on Beach (Image credit: AP Photo/Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, HO)In this photo released by Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service, a giant squid is seen after it washed up onto Ocean Beach in Strahan, Tasmania, Tuesday, July, 10. 2007. The squid, measuring 1 meter...

Mar 19, 2013

Giant Squid All One Big, Happy Family

Though they roam the deep sea around the globe, enigmatic giant squid are all part of the same species, new research finds. The new study reveals that the genetic diversity of giant squid (Architeuthis) is remarkably low — far lower than that of other marine species examined, said study researcher...

Mar 28, 2013

Jumbo Squid-Cam Uncovers Secrets of Elusive Creature

To see firsthand how an elusive species of jumbo squid lives, scientists have strapped video cameras to the carnivorous sea creature in the eastern Pacific. The footage has helped reveal some remarkable secrets of the Humboldt squid: They are capable of amazing bursts of speed, up to nearly 45 mph...

Jun 4, 2013

Seminal Study: Hungry Female Squid Snack on Sperm

Updated at 9:21 a.m. ET. Sometimes, gifts get put to surprising uses. And scientists have found possibly one of the wackiest: The female southern bottletail squid will eat packages of sperm that males passed to them to fertilize eggs. The study, published today (June 4) in the journal Biology Letters,...

Aug 27, 2013

Photos of the Stunning Deep-Sea Squid Feeding

Grimalditeuthis bonplandi (Image credit: © 2013 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)Grimalditeuthis bonplandi lives between 1,600 and 5,00 feet (500 and 1,500 meters) below the sea surface. Grimalditeuthis bonplandi , close-up (Image credit: © 2013 Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute)Researchers have previously only studied the squid based on dead, often mangled...

May 25, 2016

School-Bus-Size Giant Squid May Be Lurking Deep in the Sea

Steeped in mystery, the elusive, deep-sea-dwelling giant squid, with eyes the size of basketballs, may be larger than it has gotten credit for. In fact, the monster cephalopod may grow to be longer than a school bus, researchers say. Specimens recognizable as giant squid (Architeuthis dux) have been found washed...

Aug 16, 2016

Googly-Eyed Purple Squid Sighting Delights Scientists

A purple squid with eyes so googly it could easily be mistaken for a character in the movie Finding Nemo was recently spotted by scientists off the coast of Southern California. The so-called stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern Pacific Ocean. These...

Sep 22, 2016

Creepy Cannibals: Squid Have No Qualms About Eating Their Own Kind

The deep-sea diving Gonatus squid has a hearty appetite, even when it comes to eating its own kind, a new study finds. The cannibalism finding came about during a 20-year study (1995–2015) in which marine researchers used a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to study and video-record the eating habits of...

Feb 13, 2017

Squid Survives Ocean's 'Twilight Zone' Thanks to Its Mismatched Eyes

As its name implies, the cockeyed squid has some peculiar peepers: One is small and black, and the other is exceptionally large and yellow. Now, scientists think they know the reason for the squid's wonky eyes: They help the squid spy on prey and predators in the ocean's so-called twilight...

Apr 5, 2017

Video Captures Surprise Squid Attack — on Another Squid

A marine expedition exploring life in the deep sea near Australia recently captured footage of an incredible scene: a squid's sneak attack on a smaller squid. The two animals appeared on camera seemingly out of nowhere during the ship's video observation of a baited line. A squid that swiftly swam...

Apr 20, 2018

This Contorted Mystery Squid May Be the 'Most Bizarre' Ever Seen

There's a challenge for you — what is THAT? Unusual deep-sea creatures seen for the first time can sometimes stump even a seasoned expert in marine biology. And in a recent video of an ocean dive in the Gulf of Mexico, an expert's off-camera exclamation revealed his surprised response to...

Aug 27, 2018

Divers Find Enormous, Creepy Squid on New Zealand Beach

Divers visiting New Zealand's south coast of Wellington were looking for a nice spot to go spearfishing Saturday morning (Aug. 25) when they spotted one of the ocean's most impressive creatures of the deep: a dead, but fully intact, giant squid. After we went for a dive we went back...