A camera on a squid

January 21, 2015 8:11 PM

Image of the squid wearing a Crittercam.
"The Humboldt squid uses pigment sacs on its skin to 'flash' and to 'flicker,' both previously-unknown behaviors".
Article with a gif showing the squid 'flashing'.
posted by panaceanot (13 comments total)

All I'm saying is I'm glad I'm not the one who has to put a tube top on a Humboldt squid. They're pretty much just 100lbs of pissed-off razor-coated rubber. The flashing is it telling the other squid that people are huge assholes. The ocean is more advanced, people. When the squid figure out land, it's goodnight Irene. People look at me funny when I tell them I'm building a squid shelter. These camera people are just hurrying things along.
posted by jimmythefish at 8:58 PM on January 21, 2015 [19 favorites]

Whoa. I thought of squid as little tiny things. I thought WRONG.
posted by moonmilk at 9:04 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Oh moonmilk, you're in for a shock
posted by JauntyFedora at 9:33 PM on January 21, 2015 [2 favorites]

I think he looks rather dapper in that red squid-jacket.
posted by Ansible at 9:42 PM on January 21, 2015 [4 favorites]

Yeah, the flickering means "get this thing off of me now!
posted by harrietthespy at 9:51 PM on January 21, 2015 [1 favorite]

Love the "related post" that appeared under the text box when I typed my previous comment: "inseminating squid..."
posted by harrietthespy at 9:53 PM on January 21, 2015

pretty big camera
posted by ryanrs at 10:25 PM on January 21, 2015

I visited my friend at Stanford while she was working on this research! (the L Bell of the paper) She talked about going out on the boat and strapping the camera to the squid with the hopes of seeing them mate. Most of the work was in watching thousands of hours of footage of a squid swimming through the ocean with *nothing* happening. Must have taken lots of time to finally see this effect. Neat!
posted by potch at 11:46 PM on January 21, 2015 [10 favorites]

"They are one of the most fished species in the world," she says.

A heartwarming story about humanity looking out for creatures with less agency than ourselves.

Learning more about them is therefore "beneficial to the fisherman trying to catch them."

Ah. The God-given dominion over animals.
posted by davemee at 5:59 AM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

potch, can you invite L Bell to join metafilter and tell us all about it?
posted by moonmilk at 6:55 AM on January 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

jimmythefish: The ocean is more advanced, people. When the squid figure out land, it's goodnight Irene. People look at me funny when I tell them I'm building a squid shelter. These camera people are just hurrying things along.

Eponys... WHAT DO YOU KNOW THAT WE DON'T? GODDAMMIT, IF YOU'RE HOLDING OUT ON US AIR-BREATHERS, SO HELP ME NAMOR, I'LL CUT OFF YOUR SHRIMP FLAKES FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY "NEMO"!

potch, get the airboard ready. This fish will talk.
posted by IAmBroom at 7:14 AM on January 22, 2015

Soon.
posted by Earthtopus at 10:25 AM on January 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Aww, look at its cute little jumper!

we shall all pay for this indignity
posted by quin at 2:10 PM on January 22, 2015