Identifying Unknown Squid

[kirstenoid]

Hey,

I'm working at a museum on Vancouver Island. We have a sucker ring from an unidentified squid, reported to be 5 feet in length (total length, not mantle length). Can the squid be identified to species based on the sucker ring?

Apparently it invaded the waters surrounding Barkley Sound in the summer/fall of 2005 from somewhere down south. There were reports of the same squid being as long as fishing boats. The squid is no longer present in the waters.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Kirsten

 

[Clem]

Hello Kirsten,



That is almost certainly a sucker ring from Dosidicus gigas, the Humboldt squid. The enlargement and inward cant of the "teeth" at the top of the ring are consistent with Dosidicus, as is the reported size of the animal. D. gigas has been appearing with increasing frequency in the northern latitudes, too, as far north as Alaska. They don't grow much longer than two meters total length, so the tales about the type exceeding a boat length are tall ones (unless the boat was a dinghy or coracle), but another species, Moroteuthis, does grow to be quite long and has been collected in the B.C. neighborhood.

Thanks for posting, and welcome!

Cheers,
Clem

 

[kirstenoid]

Thanks Clem, that was really helpful! Everyone here appreciates it!

 

[chrono_war01]

I knew they had teeth, but just the sheer image of dozens of those sinking into you.

Ouch.