12 foot Moroteuthis robusta caught at Port Orford, Charleston.

Picture and details here:

http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2008/06/03/news/doc484587f149503458453481.txt

Nice!

That's great! I love our North Pacific coastal monsters.

With flabby mantles....

Nice find, Phil, thanks!

one of my coworkers just got back from a big fishing trip in mexico. he caught a few humbolt squid. they arent 40 feet long, but theyre massive compared to anything ive ever seen in person

Hi Keith -- cool -- I've never seen one in person myself. Humbolts are Dosidicus gigas a.k.a. jumbo squid. Seems there has been a population burst of these guys on the southern coast of California in recent years.

the ends of which have powerful clublike hooks used for grasping its prey

Um... what exactly is a 'club-like hook'? Couldn't be 'clubhook' squid because of hooks *on* the tentacle clubs, nooo.... :roll:
Oh well, onychoteuthids in the press - yay!

Onychoteuthids doth rule...

yea they're pretty big. ive heard that they have a reputation for ripping oxygen masks off of divers. any truth in that?

yea they're pretty big. ive heard that they have a reputation for ripping oxygen masks off of divers. any truth in that? Not a lot, divers breathe pressured air, hardly ever pure oxygen :wink:

Divers should always attempt to keep their Fio2 below 160 kPa (On a more serious note)

But all jest left aside, Dosidicus has been shown to be fairly aggressive, hunting en masse. I think using the term in packs suggests a level of social interaction between the squid that I'm not 100% sure of. Whether the flashing of colour indicates communication with other squid or merely a mesmerising factor towards intended prey items, I am not sure of either.

huh. ive never even seen an octo on a dive before. it seems to be a pretty common paranoia though.