Pharyngula::"los diablos rojos"?

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Sunday, September 25, 2005

"los diablos rojos"?

PZ Myers • 24 Comments

This account of Humboldt squid in Canada is pure slander!

Federal ocean scientists and marine biologists on both sides of the border don't know what's causing the voracious monsters—they can eat their weight in salmon very few days— to migrate north. And, like Cosgrove, they wonder what's killing the Humboldt - mean and nasty torpedo shaped motsters with powerful parrot-like beaks with powerfull suckered tentacles filled with sharp teeth.

The monster squid have a nasty history.

In Mexico's Sea of Cortez, fishermen talk of a sea monster, an enormous flesh-eating squid.

They tell of men pulled from boats and dragged to their deaths by these real-life Krakens, monstrous carnivorous squid they call "los diablos rojos".

From the deep waters of the Sea of Cortez, the highly-intelligent two-and-a-half metre long, 180 kilogram killer Humboldt squid used to limit itself to brief visits to shallower water in search of prey.

Man, that's just mean. And they accompany the story with a sad photo of a dead and decomposing squid washed up on a beach. No respect, I tell you. Some Canadians need to learn to treat their new molluscan overlords with a little more deference.

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Comments:

#41598: Derryl Murphy — 09/25 at 05:08 PM
I don't know, "highly-intelligent" seems pretty respectful to me. To sorta quote Kent Brockman, I for one welcome our squid overlords. As long as they leave some salmon to come upstream here; maybe they can eat some fishermen instead.

D

#41599: — 09/25 at 05:10 PM
And I thought "Los Diablos Rojos" was a bunch of bikers out of El Paso. The things you learn around here!

#41600: — 09/25 at 05:24 PM
Well, all I can say is "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!" and I hope the new Overlords will not try to wake him next.

#41601: — 09/25 at 05:32 PM
I'm not worried, I know that Cthulhu will eat me first!

#41604: — 09/25 at 06:32 PM
The way I saw it on TV (earlier this year I think but UK of course) it's the fisherman who have a nasty history. They showed how horrible the fisherman routinely were to the squid and then pointed out how the squid sometimes managed to retaliate.

#41605: — 09/25 at 06:35 PM
I wanted the word "fishermen". The "a" is rather a long way away from the "e" for a casual typo - and a repeated one at that. How odd. Perhaps I was projecting squid thoughts and they see all men as the same.

#41614: Michael Trefry — 09/25 at 09:03 PM
There's a Discovery special about this on right now!

It's called "Killer Squid!"

Heh

#41615: — 09/25 at 09:14 PM
Nothing with an anatomical feature described as "parrot-like" can be called a "monster."

#41620: Yubi — 09/25 at 11:22 PM
Probably you know about this already (as it's 1 year old) about giant squid population movements in Chile
http://www.esa.int/esaEO/SEMVNJYV1SD_index_0.html

Trackback: Wise Kraken Tracked on: PhaWRONGula (72.9.234.70) at 2005 09 25 21:26:50
Rudyly-skewdily Tabloid Canadian Libels the Humboldt with Fishermen's tales...

#41622: — 09/26 at 01:54 AM
¿What "Diablos Rojos"? As a lifelong fan of South American fútbol I cannot but protest your appropiation of the nickname of my beloved team Independiente, in their flaming red uniform, vencedores de 7 Copas Libertadores de América, hazaña que los ubica permanentemente en el paisaje futbolístico mundial. Ha!

Quod natura non sunt turpia

#41625: — 09/26 at 02:44 AM
Amid the clutter on my desk I found an old index card with the
following quote, but don't remember from which of his books it's from:

"I have long been an admirer of the octopus. The cephalopods are very
old, and they have slipped, protean, through many shapes. They are the
wisest of the mollusks, and I have always felt it to be just as well
for us that they never came ashore...."
the American anthropologist Loren Eiseley, 1957

#41627: Alon Levy — 09/26 at 04:04 AM
I for one welcome our cetacean overlords, some of whom conveniently eat your cephalopod idols.

#41631: John Emerson — 09/26 at 05:13 AM
Greenpeace is no friend of the squid, and the Rainbow Warror will some day suffer terrible, Jules-Vernesque retribution. Negotiations between the French Navy and the Squid Liberation Army are in their final stages.

I've actually read that the depletion of sperm whales let to a squid explosion. DOn't know about the reliability of that.

#41649: — 09/26 at 08:12 AM
Interestingly, the word "squid" is an etymological black hole. It just appears out of nowhere in the early 17th centruy.

(Not really relevant to the discussion at hand, but I just learned that factoid recently and wanted to share it with some random strangers on the internet.)

#41650: — 09/26 at 08:18 AM

Jamie: Nothing with an anatomical feature described as "parrot-like" can be called a "monster."

See if you can still say that after sticking your finger into a cage occupied by a hungry, territorial, or just generally bad-attitude parrot.

#41657: — 09/26 at 09:34 AM
JW--
You may be pleased to know (if you don't already) that nobody knows the etymology of the word "dog" either. It, too, just appeared.

#41668: — 09/26 at 10:52 AM
Nothing ... "parrot-like" can be called a "monster." Wait till you meet that thing with feathers on our captain's left shoulder.

Quod natura non sunt turpia

#41731: — 09/26 at 05:03 PM
2 Interestingly, the word "squid" is an etymological black hole. It just appears out of nowhere in the early 17th centruy."

Nit pick: A black hole swallows matter (at least in a cosmological short perspective). A (theoretical) wormhole may (theoretically) spew out matter. Neither appears out of nowhere; one must twist spacetime severely in a couple of ways to make them.

Perhaps 'etymological mutation' is more appropriate (especially here!); surely squid must have had some template, even if it was a mishearing or invention?

#41737: Virge — 09/26 at 05:46 PM

You may be pleased to know (if you don't already) that nobody knows the etymology of the word "dog" either. It, too, just appeared.

This is more proof for ID but you're all too blind to see it!

Intelligent design means that various forms of words began abruptly, with their distinctive features already intact...

#41745: — 09/26 at 07:07 PM
Virge, sorry, but I didn't want to create that particular thought in some creationist mind.

And there are transitional forms, for example:
god - godder - dogooder - doggone - one dog - dog. You can not pick words out of their geographical strata (page of a book) and disregard the carbon dating (print year).

#41754: Virge — 09/26 at 08:33 PM
The scientists can't even agree on the sequence of transitional forms:
god - goad - goat - groat - great - greet - greed - creed - creep - crap - carp - card - curd - crud - cud - dud - dug - dag - dog

So which was it, eh? god->dog via dogooder, or god->dog via crap?

If you can't tell me, then ID must be the answer!

[whispermode]Check out docga[/whispermode]

#41764: — 09/26 at 10:09 PM
I watched the Discovery Channel "Killer Squid" show. In the end, they argue for a gentler, more sentient portrayal of the Humboldt. Fascinating creature, I kinda wish they didn't taste so damn good.

On the other hand, for creatures that only live a year ... *shrug* A better alternative than eating orange roughy.

#41775: Alon Levy — 09/27 at 12:01 AM
What about "donkey"? That word must've been intelliegntly designed, too. Does it mean God would have wanted English speakers to translate khamor in the Bible as donkey rather than as ass?

#42057: — 09/28 at 01:51 PM
"So which was it, eh? god->dog via dogooder, or god->dog via crap?

If you can't tell me, then ID must be the answer!"

Oh, the responsibility!!! Well, I can, so ID loose.

...

Oh, you want me to tell it, too?

Well, let's say via dogooder.

...

Oh, you want me to give a motivation, too?

Well, since dogs produce crap instead of the other way around, I stick with my version. (Even if your clever version covered more forms.

)

Next question?