The Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas), also known as jumbo squid, jumbo flying squid, Pota, diablo rojo, calamar gigante, or Jibia is a type of large, predatory squid and the only known species of the genus Dosidicus. They are native to the eastern Pacific having historically occurred from Tierra del Fuego north to California, though in recent years these cephalopods have begun traveling further and further north as far as British Columbia and Alaska. They typically occur at 660 to 2,300ft (200 – 700m) deep but often travel to the surface at night. These cephalopods often travel together in shoals up to 1,200 strong, and feed mainly on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and copepods. The squid uses its barbed tentacle suckers to grab its prey and slices and tears the victim's flesh with its beak and radula. While humbolt squid often work together to hunt prey, they are also known cannibals which regularly attack injured or vulnerable squid in their shoal. Reaching up to 5ft (1.5m) long and 110lbs (50kg) in weight, the Humboldt squid is the largest of the Ommastrephid squids, yet despite there large size these squids are capable of regularly cruising at speeds upwards of 15mph (24 km/h) thanks to there power jet siphons and two triangular fins. Like other members of the subfamily Ommastrephinae, they possess chromatophores which enable them to quickly change body coloration, in a process known as metachrosis they signal to other squid by flashing between the colours red and white at 2–4 Hz, said flashing can be modulated in frequency, amplitude and in phase synchronisation with each other. When spawning humbolt squids lay gelatinous egg masses that are almost entirely transparent and float freely in the water column, said masses vary in size based on the size of the mother from anywhere of 5,000 to 4.1 million eggs. Under ideal conditions a humbolt squid may live a little over 2 years.
