I was going to write about this article in the Kitsap Sun, which highlighted my advisor's recent research trip off the WA coast. I thought that was pretty cool, but the article had a few science points confused, so I was going to clarify them. But then I got to the end of the article and was blown away by the most egregious mistake yet:

Eggs have never been seen by researchers, but females probably hide their eggs in rocks, as other squid do.

I can forgive the first clause more readily than the second. Although researchers found the first Humboldt squid egg mass in 2006, the paper didn't come out until 2008 (I did my best!), and it didn't exactly take the media by storm. Claiming that eggs have never been seen by researchers is false, but it does convey the impression that we know very little about their reproduction, which is true. So I find it less damaging than the second clause, which is pure misinformation.

Small nearshore squid do attach their eggs to the sandy or rocky bottom, depending on species and habitat. But oceanic squid generally produce free-floating gelatinous egg masses. One species' egg mass rises to the surface, and another is brooded by mom, but none are attached to the seafloor. Even before 2006, no one had ever expected to find Humboldt squid hiding their eggs in rocks, and sure enough, they don't.

So where did this misinformation come from? Apparently the source was squid-world.com, a site which I was surprised I'd never seen before. I checked it out, and quickly found the offending clause on the Humboldt Squid Facts page. Bewildered at how this could be considered a "fact," I explored a little more. My disenchantment with the site was clinched when I discovered the following statement about squid:

They also can be found in both fresh water and salt water.

You may recall from my last post that cephalopods are exclusively marine (saltwater only). Of course, it's my word against squid-world's, but I can offer some non-internet corroborating sources upon request (though even Wikipedia agrees with me).

Where does squid-world get its facts? I wanted to ask, but this is the entirety of their contact page:

Contact Us
www.infoqis.com
Infoqis Publishing Inc.
354 NW St. Miami FL

You may be surprised to learn that the Infoqis website is not an academic site, but a promotional site for Marl the Stock-Picking Robot. Strange! Marl and his creators are experts in more than just squid and stocks, though--they also run penguins-world, manatee-world, snail-world, and . . . green tea diets?

Journalists, I'm just going to throw this out there. You might want to check anything Marl has to say about science with a real scientist. Especially one of the scientists you have already interviewed.