3/17/2023 0 Comments Humboldt squids![]() ![]() READ Sensory Functions of a Narwhal's Tusk Fisherman who have observed squid flashing red and white while hunting refer to them as diablo rojo, Spanish for “red devil”. Humboldt squid have bioluminescent abilities, enabling them to emit glowing light under water and change colours like the lights on a Christmas tree. They catch their prey through the use of ten tentacles, including two feeding tentacles armed with razor sharp circular suctions that pull prey to massive, strong beaks at the front of their mouth. NOAA fisheries biologist John Field describes them as “voracious predators” known to attack anything they can, including cannibalizing other squid. The green squares correspond to documented occurrences. The red dot is its known range in the waters of the Humboldt Current. Humboldt squid depend on both deep water and shallow coastal ecosystems, moving both vertically and horizontally throughout their habitats daily and seasonally in search of prey. The species has also been documented in shallower waters along the coasts of South America, Mexico, and California. The combination of ocean currents creates an area of high productivity that supports high biological diversity. The Humboldt Current is a northward flowing cold-water stream that forms a convergence zone in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The Humboldt squid is a 1.5 meter long, 100 pound carnivore that lives at depths of 200-1,000 meters, primarily in the productive waters of the Humboldt Current. The French naturalist Alcide d’Orbigny first described the Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, also known as the jumbo squid, in 1834 (d’Orbigny named over thirty organisms and himself has several plant and animal species named after him). As a result, there are few high quality photos of the species in its habitat. The Humboldt squid lives at such depths and is fairly poorly studied. Throughout his life, Humboldt also took trips to the United States and across Asia to the Altai Mountains in Russia. The sheer volume of species and natural features Humboldt documented was astounding. He first sailed from Spain in 1799 to visit South America as a scientific expedition, intent on studying and recording everything he could find in nature and collecting specimens to send back to Europe for further study and classification. Humboldt is well known for his voyages through Central and South America. We owe a good deal of our scientific knowledge of ecology and physical earth processes to Humboldt’s work. Only with the wisdom of time has the world truly begun to understand the brilliance of this Prussian scientist who lived from 1769-1859. Like the poet Emily Dickinson, Humboldt’s contributions to the world were increasingly recognized and celebrated posthumously. Humboldt’s greatest legacy is probably not a little known species of squid that inhabits a section of ocean also named for Humboldt off the west coast of South America. Humboldt’s name permeates virtually every physical scale of the world, from mountains to counties to cities to streets to hotels. I had never heard of him until a couple years ago when I read Andrea Wulf’s wonderful account of Humboldt’s life in her book The Invention of Nature. It is a shame that many people have never heard of him. If you are interested in the outdoors, Alexander von Humboldt was one of the most fascinating people to have ever lived. Humboldt in his home study and library, painted by Eduard Hildebrandt in1856. ![]()
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