Alien-like Squid With "Elbows" Filmed at Drilling Site

Summary

November 24, 2008: A squid has been filmed by a Remotely operated underwater vehicle owned by the Shell Oil Company near an off-shore drilling site. The squid is of the rare and unusual Magnapinna type, and in contrast to other squids it has ten tentacles of equal length (as opposed to other squid species, which normally have eight short and two long tentacles), and those tentacles seem to have a visible "elbow at a short distance from the main body. Adult squids of this type can range from 1.5 m to 7 m in size.

Source

Bibliography

1. Original article with video

Game and Story Use

• As the video and the photos show, adding additional joints to an animal can make it look more disturbing. Similar slight changes in the body structure can be used to great effect to emphasize the "unnaturalness" of a creature.
• The extremely long tentacles below the "elbow joints" can work well for snatching other creatures far below the main body. Imagine a creature similar to the squid, but floating in the air and able to attack creatures far below it and dragging them up to its mouth.