Squid (unquestionably) washes up in Puget Sound

[Tintenfisch]

Thought you guys might be interested in the following e-mail and photos I received a few days ago - some people have all the luck!


"Hi Kat,
"My name is Alex Sasonoff, I discovered [a large] squid on the beach of Puget Sound near Three Tree Point. The body length was about 7 feet and the tentacles another 2 feet beyond the head. I tried to lift it further up the beach but it must have weighed over 200 pounds and I could not budge it. When I pulled on it at the opposite end of the tentacles, it let out a jet of water from a port near its head. The skin where I grabbed it was rather smooth and slimy making it impossible to get a good grip. The color was a rusty orange to light amber. The tentacles appeared to have been bitten off. One was still partially attached. The tentacles that were left extended about two feet beyond its head. It smelled very bad. I ran home to get a camera but found it was gone. I talked to my neighbor, Jim Newsom who said he had also seen it and took photographs.
"Jim said he tried also to move it further up the beach with an oar. When he started to pry along with the oar, all the tentacles started to move. At this point he discovered that it was still alive. He then pushed and pried it out about 15 feet and it was there that it took off with a whoosh.
Alex Sasonoff"

Attached are Jim Newsom's photographs.

So, guys, anyone want to guess what it is?

 

[WhiteKiboko]

this is just my impression, but the 7ft seems a bit inflated for how it looks.... also 200 lbs seems a bit heavy for something that sized....
other than that, great pictures.....

 

[Phil]

Moroteuthis? Great photos, by the way.

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

Dosidicus?

 

[Clem]

Kat,

That's gotta be Moroteuthis robusta. Unless it's an oarfish. Or whale skin.



Clem

 

[Tintenfisch]

Well, there's no fooling you guys... I was all set to call it M. robusta myself, but when I looked it up online (just as a reference for people who wanted more info) I discovered there appears to be a motion afoot to synonomize Moroteuthis with the genus Onykia, which would, if agreed upon, make this species Onykia robusta. Check it out on Tree of Life: Onykia.



Of course it could have been a giant jellyfish.

 

[Clem]

Well, shet mah mouth.

 

[cthulhu77]

Nah, if it was really a gigantic Jellyfish, Clem would have raced over there and burned it! He keeps on top of these things, you know!
Greg

 

[Bald Evil]

You guys are way off base, that can't possibly be moroteuthis robusta, or any other giant squid. It is clearly nothing more than marsh gas reflected off an errant weather balloon. Nothing to see here, move along!

 

[Clem]

I discovered there appears to be a motion afoot to synonomize Moroteuthis with the genus Onykia, which would, if agreed upon, make this species Onykia robusta.

Kat,

Would you agree that giant squid's names should not sound like those given to cellular phones?

Onykia has no verve, no vim, no vigor, no-

:|

Clem

 

[WhiteKiboko]

its been awhile for me.... maybe this shouldve gone under 'a good read'...

 

[Tintenfisch]

Would you agree that giant squid's names should not sound like those given to cellular phones?

Most certainly - and what's more, someone else appears to have been of the same mind. There's a genus in the Onychoteuthidae creatively named Notonykia.

Maybe it's OK if the squid gets named first? We could try to get them to drop the proposed Mesphonychoteuthis campaign...

 

[tonmo]