Scariest Marine Mollusk

Scariest Marine Mollusks

The phylum mollusca is commonly mistaken as just snails and slugs. This is not true, while those do make up part of the phylum (gastropods), there is also another group (cephalopods). Cephalopods include cuttlefish, octopus, and squid. Today, I will be talking about a species of squid, known as El Diablo Rojo for their reddish color. They can also change from red to white thanks to specialized cells called chromatophores.

The Dosidicus gigas (Humboldt squid) is the largest and one of, if not, the most aggressive species of squid. They grow to at least 4 feet long and their tentacles grow a few more feet after that. These squid have been known to attack people while in the ocean. They can be found in the eastern pacific ocean along the coast from the tip of Chile up until the coast of Alaska.

image source

These beautiful creatures are known to attack from below and drag their prey down around 15mph which is also their top speed. If their prey is human, they go around 8mph. Note: they do not actively seek out humans as prey, mainly a mistaken identity attack.

They seem to be able to maintain their population rate:

females may lay as many as 20 million eggs, the most of any known cephalopod (squid, octopus, or relative).
Oceana.org

however, we do not know what their actual population size is. They're top choice in many predators and are targeted by some fisheries. So while they spawn often, their population is probably in check by their predators and fisheries. We can assume they are plentiful because of their broad location range, but that does not mean they are plentiful.