Mollusks, features and articles | Educational Science

Jul 23, 2009

Jumbo Squid Scare Californians But Aren't Man-Eaters

Carnivorous jumbo squid have been washing up on San Diego beaches and swarming in Southern California's coastal waters, freaking out scuba divers and bathers this month, but a biologist now says these beasts are not man-eaters, despite concerns expressed in the media. Reports started coming in earlier in July that...

May 10, 2010

Colossal Squid Is No Monster, Study Finds

Measuring longer than a school bus and sporting tentacles covered in razor-sharp hooks, the colossal squid is the stuff of nightmares. However, new research suggests the enormous sea creature may not be the fierce hunter of legend. This finding not only upends science's understanding of the squid itself, but forces...

Jan 6, 2011

Ancient Squid-Like Creature's Last Meal Revealed

Millions of years ago, a squid-like creature called an ammonite died with the remains of its last meal wedged between its teeth. Now, new high-tech images reveal that meal — a mini-snail and three tiny crustaceans — and shed light on the diet of these once-common creatures. It gives us...

Feb 2, 2011

How Squid Hear: It's All in the Motion of the Ocean

Squid can hear, scientists have confirmed. But they don't detect the changes in pressure associated with sound waves, like we do. They have another, more primitive, technique for listening: They sense the motion generated by sound waves. They are detecting themselves moving back and forth with the sound wave, said...

Feb 10, 2011

This Pheromone Puts Squid in the Mood — To Fight

A newfound chemical drives male squid berserk, and the molecule appears similar to ones seen in humans, scientists now say. Future research might investigate whether comparable human semen proteins have similar effects, investigators added. Scientists investigated the longfin squid (Loligo pealeii), which live for nine to 12 months, usually mating...

Aug 9, 2011

Small Squid Have Bigger Sperm, But It's Not to Compensate

Among one species of squid, large males produce small sperm, meanwhile, small male squid have bigger swimmers. The differing sperm sizes are most likely the result of the two distinct strategies these males employ to mate with females, according to researchers. Large male squid, of the species Loligo bleekeri, called...

Sep 26, 2012

Scientists Reveal Vampire Squid's Strange Eating Habits

(ISNS) -- The sinisterly named vampire squid dwells in water far too harsh for any of its relatives. Now scientists find it survives there by feeding on unliving matter instead of live prey, unlike any known living squid or octopus. The creature's scientific name Vampyroteuthis infernalis, which means vampire squid...

Oct 2, 2012

Gallery: Vampire squid from hell

Vampire of the Deep (Image credit: Kim Reisenbichler © 2005 MBARI)Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally vampire squid from hell, is a mysterious deep-sea species. Research published in September 2012 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B reveals that these strange animals fish for ocean detritus using a long filament appendage,...

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,...