Attack Of The Flying

A massive shape launches itself out of the ocean—fins spread, 10 long tentacles flying. As it soars through the air, the creature’s skin flashes, turning from white to purple-red. Is it an alien from another world?

- Christy Mihaly

 In a way, it is. It’s a creature from the deep—a jumbo flying squid. And we may soon be seeing a lot more of them.

Meet the Jumbo Squid

Around 2002, fishing boats along the northern Pacific coast of the United States and Canada started reeling in an unfamiliar catch: large, fierce, red squid. Some reported spotting huge schools of them. Where had they come from? Why now? And were they here to stay?

The newcomer, Dosidicus gigas, is also known as Humboldt squid, jumbo squid, flying squid, or diablo rojo (“red devil”). They gets their devilish name from their red skin and bad temper. Their usual home is in the deep ocean off the coast of South America. They swim and leap out of the water by filling their bodies with water, then squirting it out. These squid can grow up to 6 feet (2 m) long and weigh more than 100 pounds (45 kg)—as big as a human adult. At night, large groups of squid rise to the mid-ocean to hunt small fish and shellfish.