Indie Squid Kid

It has been pointed out to me that this shirt by SquidFire is not, technically, a T-shirt. Therefore, I have adjusted the title of the today’s post accordingly.

The “Giant Octopus” polo features two octopi, whose arms seem to be tangled in a virtual Gordian Knot of tentacles.

It can be purchased for $32 (USD) at Squidfire.com.

This design (as a single octopus) is also available as a Women’s T-shirt and a Child’s T-shirt (in Navy and Purple).

The U.S. Department of the Interior reported today that a 19.5 foot long Giant Squid was unexpectedly netted off the coast of Louisiana. The 103 pound squid was caught July 30 in a trawl net at a depth of more than 1,500 feet as it was pulled by a research vessel. It was the first Architeuthis specimen to be found in the Gulf of Mexico since 1954, and the first ever to be recovered by a scientific expedition. The scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service were participating in a pilot study of the diets of Sperm Whales.  The rare squid, which did not survive the rapid change in water depth when brought to the surface, was sent to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History for further study.

Via Reuters and NOAA

photo credit: NOAA

photo by Chrysophylax

Cthulhu action figure by SOTA Toys.

Carcassonne board game by Rio Grande Games.

Safari Ltd., as I have mentioned before, is the leading purveyor of high-quality plastic toy animals. Over the last ten years or so, they have produced three different versions of Architeuthis—the legendary Giant Squid.

The first Giant Squid made by Safari was this tiny guy. It was part of a small assortment of similarly-sized marine animals which were available, if I recall, in the mid-90s (although there is no date printed on the figure). This assortment has been out of production for a while, and I think it was part of the Habitat Authentics line. (Although I haven’t been able to dig up any information on it—thanks for NOTHING Internet!)

The figure itself is not as accurate as Safari’s second Giant Squid sculpt (see below). While it is a perfectly lovely squid, generally, its mantle and tentacles are too short to be an Architeuthis (something we’ve seen before).

Safari’s next version of the Giant Squid really hit the mark. The 1998 Monterey Bay Aquarium Giant Squid is approximately 18″ long, and it remains the best Architeuthis replica to date. It retails for $9.99 and is still available from SafariLtd.com.

Here the Giant Squid is locked in combat with Safari’s Monterey Bay Sperm Whale. As you can see, the scale is a little off…despite a few unverified reports from the 19th century, it’s unlikely that they ever get quite this big.

In 2004, the Wild Safari® Sealife Giant Squid was released. This is the same sculpt as the Monterey Bay squid, only scaled down (approximately 10″ long) for the cheaper Wild Safari line. Buy on SafariLtd.com or look for it at Michael’s, A.C. Moore, or the better sort of museum gift shop.

Here are both squids in a side-by-side comparison. Both versions have wires in the long feeding tentacles, making them the most poseable Safari replica.

Learn more about Architeuthis on Tree of Life.

Previously on ISK: Wild Safari Sealife Octopus

While yesterday’s Toy Week post featured a museum-quality replica cephalopod, today’s subject is practically abstract. I picked up this set of colorful pool toys at Toys R’ Us last summer, and one day when Kid Indie Squid Kid is old enough to dive into the deep end of the pool, these guys are going to come in very handy. Now that the seasonal section of TRU has been filled with Halloween costumes, you might be able to find this in the discount bin with the rest of the summer pool toys.

Previously on ISK: Subbies Squiddy

This one-shot comic by Dark Horse Comics was written and illustrated by Gary Gianni. It was originally published in October 1992-January 1993 as a four-part serial in issues 3-6 of the anthology series Dark Horse Comics. All four parts were collected in this one-shot in September 1994.

You can read a detailed plot summary here, but, the story boils down to this: Indiana Jones vs. a giant octopus! And really, what else do you need?

This detailed replica of the fascinating deep-sea cephalopod Vampyroteuthis infernalis most likely came from a museum or aquarium gift shop. It’s hard to say since I probably bought it about ten years ago. If I had known then that in 2008 I’d start a blog dedicated to cephalopods, perhaps I would have taken some notes…

The replica is about 6″ long and made of soft purple rubber. (It seems there is also a green version.) It has red eyes and four large glow-in-the-dark photophores. Apart from “TAMJ 97©” printed on the underside, I haven’t been able to find out anything specific on who made this toy or if it still available anymore.

Read more about Vampyroteuthis on Tree of Life.

design by akoelle

With all the excitement of Toy Week, I nearly forgot it was T-shirt Tuesday!

I can’t decided if I think this shirt represents rich biodiversity of the world’s oceans or the near-infinite number of cephalopod-related topics that are still left to appear in this blog. Either way, “Squid Count” is pretty rad.

It costs $19 (USD), but it is currently unavailable in men’s sizes and is sold out in all women’s sizes except medium.

Buy it (if you can) from DesignByHümans.

This lovely green octopus is from Fisher-Price’s Imaginext Adventures Pirate line, and it is a vast improvement over Imaginext’s previous attempt at a cephalopod toy.

Despite his pleasant hue, this is one bad ass octopus. For starters, his name is “Seablade.” As in, “I don’t care that I’m a squishy invertebrate…I will totally cut you!” Furthermore, he has a sweet skull-and-cross-bones tat, and he hangs out with blood-thirsty pirates. Yet, as we are told, he is fiercely loyal to his terrestrial friends.

Seablade features “Spinning Action” and comes with a pirate figure, sword, piece of treasure, sea star, and coral.

It originally retailed for about $6.00 (although these days it costs quite a bit more at Amazon). It seems to be getting scarce in stores, but I’ve seen it fairly recently at Kohl’s.

Previously on ISK: Imaginext Deep Sea Diver

Welcome to Toy Week!

I might as well come clean. I own a lot of toys, and this will be the first of several theme weeks dedicated to toy cephalopods, both vintage and modern.

We begin with the Squid Sub from the Mega Rig® Building System by Matchbox.

The packaging here pretty much says it all. The submarine consists of a primary hull with modular accessories that can be attached in a number of different configurations. It has a working motor and launching harpoon, and it comes with a cute little diver man. The most important part, of course, is the “Squirting Squid.” In my customary nit-picky analysis, this large purple cephalopod more closely resembles an octopus than a squid. It has eight arms, each tipped with a single large sucker. (There is a strange slit in the middle of each arm, and I suspect this has something to do with maximizing the toy’s flexibility.) Its head resembles a cross between the bulbous head of an octopus and the pointy, finned mantle of a squid, but ultimately, it is not nearly long enough to be accurately called a squid.

Did I mention the sub was motorized? Because the screaming octo-squid really wants you to know that it is motorized.

The Mega Rig Squid Sub doesn’t seem to be in stores any more (I got mine a year or two ago on clearance at Wal-Mart), but you can still  buy it on Amazon.com.

Although I’ve never seen it anywhere, Amazon also has the Mega Ocean Adventure, which combines the Mega Rig Squid Sub with the Mega Rig Shark Adventure into a single über-Mega playset.

Previously on ISK: Matchbox Monsters: Kraken vs. Hovercraft!