Scientists have captured a 19.5-foot, 103-pound giant squid off the coast of Louisiana, only the second known giant squid caught in the Gulf of Mexico since 1954. Previously & previously.
posted by brundlefly on Sep 21, 2009 - 52 comments

Scientists draw squid using its 150 million-year-old fossilised ink. [more inside]
posted by Astro Zombie on Aug 24, 2009 - 33 comments

Squid and Owl is a poetical, scientifical, graphical design project by John Holbo. Kind of Dr. Seuss meets Dave Eggers meets Bill Nye the Science Guy. [via Bruce Schneier's Friday Squid Blogging series]
posted by silby on Aug 15, 2009 - 6 comments

Divers [have been] spooked by tales of assault as swarms of aggressive jumbo flying squid invade the shallows off San Diego. No, not the return of Cthulhu; it's just a swarm of Humboldt squid. Here's a rather long talk with video images by one of the world's experts on these vicious nightmares.
posted by Joe in Australia on Jul 18, 2009 - 43 comments

"Lilly, what did you see on the beach?" John Feher asked his little daughter. “Squid, squid, squid, squid, squid.” she replied. “Why are they here? Why are the squid here? I can’t honestly tell you,” Sgt. Rains said. “I don’t [know] if it’s tied or not to the earthquake.” Giant squid wash ashore in La Jolla.
posted by jokeefe on Jul 12, 2009 - 47 comments

The secret, social lives of bacteria. "Bonnie Bassler discovered that bacteria 'talk' to each other, using a chemical language that lets them coordinate defense and mount attacks. The find has stunning implications for medicine, industry -- and our understanding of ourselves." [Via]
posted by homunculus on Apr 10, 2009 - 52 comments

Blush. A squid flash game. Kind of like flow but less abstract/meditative, more shiny & fast paced.
posted by juv3nal on Mar 2, 2009 - 23 comments

Lull : music video for Andrew Bird by Lisa Barcy. Featuring giant squid. [SLYT]
posted by grapefruitmoon on Feb 16, 2009 - 15 comments

Build your squid, name him, and let him play in the ocean. Come back later to see whet he's got up to. I named mine 'Albert'.
posted by orthogonality on Dec 31, 2008 - 100 comments

The SERPENT project Collaborating closely with key players in the oil and gas industry, the SERPENT project aims to make cutting-edge industrial ROV technology and data more accessible to the world's science community, share knowledge and progress deep-sea research. Galleries, video of rare elbowed squid.
posted by dhruva on Nov 24, 2008 - 5 comments

Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni - Colossal Squid (caught here in MetaFilter most recently....). Another one, caught about a year ago off Antarctica, was put on ice.... It is being thawed and scheduled to be examined along with a Squidcam! [more inside]
posted by Kronos_to_Earth on Apr 27, 2008 - 37 comments

Beautiful Squid. How I am obsessed with thee!! A legend, different than an octopus, rarely seen, oddly loved, making its home in the Mediterranean, and the far sea, the giant squid is one of the most elusive creatures of the deep. Even in death it produces treasure.
posted by whimsicalnymph on Jan 16, 2008 - 23 comments

Like squid? What about the good ol' octopus? The cuttlefish and nautilus? If you answered yes to these questions Dr. James B. Wood's Cephalopod Page is your go-to site, with information on and pictures of 25+ species of cephalopods including the aptly named (I'm sure) vampire squid from hell. The site also hosts many articles. Not sure where you stand on the coolness of cephalopods? Why don't you start by watching this video of an octopus squeezing through a one inch hole (previously on MetaFilter).
posted by Kattullus on Dec 2, 2007 - 25 comments

Happy International Cephalopod Awareness Day! [Via ectoplasmosis.]
posted by homunculus on Oct 8, 2007 - 33 comments

Not to be outdone by the appearance of the Octosquid (previously), other cephalopods have undearthed 900-year-old hidden treasures from the Koryo Dynasty and are taking up residence in the Monterey Bay (Bugmenot works for this last link). Squirrels are also getting in on the action.
posted by christopherious on Jul 25, 2007 - 11 comments

A surprisingly beautiful video of a squid giving birth. The editing is a little over done, and the adult squid doesn't actually show up until 2:50.
posted by delmoi on Apr 14, 2007 - 25 comments

Live giant squid captured off Japan. (Reuters video). Alas, the squid died during capture. Poor squid.
posted by spitbull on Dec 22, 2006 - 64 comments

Dancing with demons - riveting underwater adventure about a close encounter with a giant, hungry Diablo Rojo. Also see filming the Humboldt squid. Past squid threads:1, 2, 3, and 4. Via Squidblog.
posted by madamjujujive on Apr 6, 2006 - 16 comments

Giant squid photographed.
posted by footnote on Sep 27, 2005 - 83 comments

Kraken comes to The O.C. More dead jumbo squid are washing up along Orange County's coastline, and although that's bad news for the creatures, it's good news for scientists eager to learn more about the mysterious deep-sea dwellers. If your calamarical appetite hasn't been quenched: Squidblog! Also, classical irony with Electra killing the Kraken.
posted by Dante5Inferno on Mar 23, 2005 - 13 comments

Uh Oh! Giant Squids, not to be confused with your regular, everyday squids, are washing up by the hundreds on the beaches of Southern California. This may be because Giant Squids are taking over the world!
posted by Secret Life of Gravy on Jan 20, 2005 - 61 comments

Cuter than a fangtooth. Beautiful images of bioluminescent sea creatures. Learn the difference between fluorescence, phosphorescence, and bioluminescence, as well as the science behind the amazing chemical reaction. (I like the floppy-eared one the best--okay, the plastic bag looking one is nifty too.)
posted by lychee on May 12, 2004 - 4 comments

'Punk' Catfish Among New Species Found in Venezuela : Scientists studying an unspoiled jungle river wilderness in Venezuela on Thursday announced the discovery of 10 new fish species, including a red-tailed tiddler, a "punk" catfish with a spiky head and a piranha that eats fruit as well as flesh, says The Associated Press.
A little more Here.
Other new species found recently include Baffling 'Mystery Apes' [More on them], some gross, weird things, and even some Odd Critters that thrive without oxygen, growing in salty, alkaline conditions, and may offer insights into what kinds of life might survive on Mars. But it's not just little critters, Pseudoryx nghetinhensis was the first of the new mammal species discovered in quite some time, and even A New giant squid.
Like this stuff? A New Theory says many of the ecological patterns we see can be more simply and often better explained if competing species are treated as if they were essentially identical.
posted by Blake on Aug 29, 2003 - 12 comments

Hentai made real. Scientists research sex-crazed giant squid.
posted by qDot on Aug 6, 2003 - 4 comments

'A colossal squid has been caught in Antarctic waters, the first example of Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni retrieved virtually intact from the surface of the ocean. ' Related (old news from January) :- giant squid attacks boat.
More squid sites :- Search for Giant Squid, a Smithsonian exhibit about a 1999 expedition. 'Whether living or extinct, on land or at sea, in literature or in life, large animals have long fascinated people. The largest animals have been known and hunted since prehistory: whales, walruses, elephants, rhinos, hippos, giraffes, and large fishes... However, one large animal has gone almost unnoticed or certainly unobserved in its habitat. That animal is the giant squid. Although these animals have been found in the nets of commercial fishermen, in the stomachs of sperm whales, and washed ashore on different continents, no scientific information has been gathered by direct observations of live giant squid ... '
The UnMuseum's article on the giant squid.
posted by plep on Apr 3, 2003 - 23 comments

Giant squid are taking over the world! The bad news is this is most likely a symptom of global warming. The good news is its likely we'll be able to catch a live giant squid to put on display. Hey, its friday.
posted by skallas on Aug 2, 2002 - 22 comments

It is one of the biggest critters in the ocean and has never been seen alive...until now. The ultimate goal is to get living juveniles to aquariums on land and raise them until their bodies grow to about ten feet long. I'd pay to see one.
posted by piskycritters on Feb 27, 2002 - 29 comments

Bizarre new species of deep sea squid - Yes, you may have read about it earlier, but this link is a photo of one of the strangest new species to be discovered in a long time. Seventeen feet of weirdness 10,000 feet below the surface. It's cool that we can still find new alien life forms without yet venturing into space.
posted by kokogiak on Dec 20, 2001 - 34 comments