According to this article (San Jose Mercury News) giant "Humboldt" squid are infesting the waters of southern California:
It has probing arms and
tooth-lined tentacles, a raptor-like beak and an insatiable craving for flesh - any kind of flesh, even that of humans. It shows up briefly off California every four or five years, spurred by a warm current or some other anomaly, providing a boon for sportfishing businesses.But amid this latest influx, to points as far north as Bodega Bay, there is a deepening concern among scientists that Humboldt squid are
entrenching themselves off California, and may expand northward, eating their way through fisheries as they go. The same thing is happening in the Southern Hemisphere, where squid are being blamed for depleting the hake fishery off Chile.
From National Geographic:
Elusive and cannibalistic, the Humboldt, or jumbo, squid (Dosidicus gigas) has a reputation so fearsome that it has earned the nickname "red devil." […] Known as aggressive predators, Humboldt squid have powerful arms and tentacles, excellent underwater vision and a razor-sharp beak that easily tears through the flesh of their prey. They can also rapidly change their skin color in what appears to be a complex communication system.
Amazing!
Image is from the First edition (1807) of "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne. Via the National Maritime Museum, Royal Observatory, Greenwich.
