Scubaism

SignonSandiego recently published the story of Scott Cassell, a diver who films Humboldt squids, a predatory carnivorous squid in Mexico. The humboldts are so dangerous Cassell collaborated with Neptunic Technologies, whose owner invented the Sharksuit protective wet suit about 30 years ago. They created armor made of chain mail and aluminum panels that Cassell wears over his wet suit.

Here’s what Cassell writes about the humboldts:

For most people, the word “squid” probably conjures images of deep-fried appetizers, not flesh-eating carnivores. But the truth is, Humboldt squid have approximately 1,200 sucker discs, each one lined with 20 to 26 needle-sharp teeth. This allows the Humboldt to attack its prey with more than 24,000 teeth at once. And nestled in its bed of eight muscular arms and two feeding tentacles is a disproportionately large, knife-edged beak similar to a parrot’s. But the Humboldt is much larger than a parrot: they have been found as large as 14 feet in length and weighing more than 700 pounds.

In addition to the Humboldt’s enormity and impressive array of weapons, this magnificent mollusk possesses a legendary ferocity. The local Mexican fishermen call it Rojo Diablo, or Red Demon. When I arrived in Mexico for the dive, several fishermen told tales of how people had experienced violent deaths after falling in the water with these red demons: “…they would be pulled down and devoured in moments.”