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Humboldt Squid | Daily Animal Facts

Animal profile

Humboldt Squid

Dosidicus gigas

CephalopodaOpen water of the eastern Pacific, moving between the surface at night and several hundred metres by day

Field profile

The Humboldt or jumbo squid is a large, fast-growing predator of the eastern Pacific and the basis of one of the world's biggest cephalopod fisheries. It lives roughly one to two years and hunts in aggregations that can number in the thousands.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-01-27

Humboldt Squid

Humboldt squid flicker patterns while hunting in darkness

Deep-sea footage shows Humboldt squid rapidly changing body pattern as they feed in groups. The flickering is backlit by their own glowing photophores, which makes the patterns visible where no sunlight reaches.

Read with evidence →