Squid Pins ~ Made in USA

Betcha Captain Nemo would've worn this!

Our Painted Squid Pins

These gorgeous and unusual squid pins are made in Washington and Idaho by a team of U.S. artists. The high-quality lapel pins or oversized tie tacks are unique. They are exquisitely detailed; the quality of the painting elevates each pin to an item of wearable art. Each one is cast in pewter and painted by hand. You will be delighted with the professional quality and artistic details of your piece of fish jewelry. The finish is extremely smooth and shiny, as you can see by the highlight from the scanner. It is also extremely durable. The pin is secured by two sturdy tacks on the back so it stays upright, and the finished product is not only gorgeous, but satisfyingly substantial in weight. It can be used as a lapel pin, hat pin, tie tack, and more. This collectible animal pin is heirloom quality, and the details are so realistic, they are found in museum gift shops and bought by organizations in need of the perfect animal to represent their group.

About Squid

There are approximately 300 species of squid. All squid have similar body arrangements, with a distinct head, eight arms plus two longer tentacles, and the ability to squirt ink into the water as a defence against predators. Most modern squid are no more than two feet long, although giant squid may reach lengths of 43 feet and colossal squid are estimated to reach an astonishing 46 feet long! In 2007, a colossal squid weighing over 1,000 pounds was caught by a New Zealand fishing ship, and represents the largest scientifically documented cephalopod on record.

 This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Stuffed Giant Squid

He's back at TPF! Give 'im a big hug!

Our Plush Giant Squid

This realistic-looking stuffed giant squid is made of very soft plush burgundy and tan material, and is 30 inches long. This miniature giant squid replica has huge bi-colored shiny eyes and makes a nice item in a stuffed animal collection. Our plush giant squid promises not to bite. It makes an excellent a gift, or toy for children or adults and could work well for school show-and-tell or as a school science project. Check out our other aquatic animals and sea life toys and gifts.

About Giant Squid

SEPTEMBER 27, 2005--FIRST PHOTOS!

Scientists have finally photographed a live wild giant squid. Read the story at the National Geographic News web site.

Remember Jules Verne's character, Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? One of his most dramatic encounters involved a giant squid (Architeuthis dux) such as this one. We don't know much about the habits of giant squids because scientists have not actually found where they live! We do know that they are eaten by sperm whales, as their beaks have been found in the whales' stomachs.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Plastic Blue Squid

You don't need to go 20,000 leagues under the sea for this guy!

Our Plastic Squid

Plastic Squid: This squid is made of soft plastic. It's slightly squeezable, and it also floats. It has flexible tentacles and an inquisitive eye on each side. Check out our other squid toys and gifts.

About Giant Squid

Remember Jules Verne's character, Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? One of his most dramatic encounters involved a giant squid (Architeuthis dux) such as this one. We don't know much about the habits of giant squids because scientists have not actually found where they live! We do know that they are eaten by sperm whales, as their beaks have been found in the whales' stomachs.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

GIANT Squid

Our giant squid is amazing!

Remember Jules Verne's character, Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus, in 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea? One of his most dramatic encounters involved a giant squid (Architeuthis dux) such as this one. We don't know much about the habits of giant squids because scientists have not actually found where they live! We do know that they are eaten by sperm whales, as their beaks have been found in the whales' stomachs.

While the average length of a giant squid is 60 feet long, our plastic squid is "only" 9 1/2 inches long. It can't do you any harm, but it can provide fun and a learning experience. Realistic in many details, our sturdy, solid plastic squid has real-looking sucker feet on the shorter tentacles and a beak where the tentacles attach to the squid. There are also suckers on the ends of the two long tentacles, which are bendable and somewhat posable. The shorter tentacles are very flexible, but they are not posable. The body of the squid including the short tentacles is almost 5 inches long. The eyes are prominently painted, the tail is realistically moulded, and there is even a mouth moulded into the bottom, just barely seen in the photo. Our squid is durable and sturdy, made of solid plastic, and is suitable for school displays, as a learning experience for children, as a wonderful gift for Jules Verne fans, as an addition to sea life collections, and it can also be used as a toy. It comes with an informational tag in English ("giant squid"), French ("le calmar geant"), German ("riesenkrake"), Italian ("seppia gigante"), and Spanish ("calamar gigante"). You can learn more about this fascinating creature of the deep on a web page called In Search of Giant Squid. Once you've seen what a fascinating and mysterious creature this is, we think you'll want to take one home!

Be sure to look over our other squid toys and gifts.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Squid and Coffee, Anyone?

We try to be responsive to our customers' requests. "C" wanted to know just how big our 18-inch plastic squid really is.

"Would it be possible to see a picture of your 18 inch giant squid toy next to someone (or a size reference), I just cant picture how big/thick this will be..."

No problem, C, Here ya go. The photo also goes to prove that occasionally the sun does come out here in the rainy, stormy, Pacific Northwest. In fact, we're supposed to be in the midst of a big storm right now, but you see that the sun is bright and actually a bit warm on our happy plastic squid.

By the way, this photo is not to imply that you should be having squid with your morning coffee, but if that's your "cup of tea," we don't want to discourage it, either. Mmmmmm! Hmmm. Maybe it's not such a bad idea. Are you getting bored with the normal routine? Squid and coffee, anyone? Think about it.

We like to stay open-minded here at Tapir and Friends Animal Store. It's always fun to hear what YOU do with your stuffed and plastic animals. Let us know, OK? Even better . . . send photos and become famous on our blog  :) (Check out the Customer Comments label below to see some fun stuff our customers have done with toy animals.)

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Our Plastic Belemnite: Brand New Extinct Sea Animal

Our Plastic Belemnite

Our belemnite measures 6 1/2 inches in length from the tip of its tentacle-like arms to the top of its head; the lateral fins measure 2 1/4 inches. This sturdy, hand painted plastic belemnite is made in Germany and comes with an attached tag describing this and three other fossil sea animals. This tag is printed in English and German. Our belemnite is captured with its tentacle-like arms stretched outward in "speed mode." Notice the fleshy tube underneath the head between the piercing eyes. This tube or funnel is used to propel itself suddenly. The realistic tentacle-like arms show the series of hooks for holding prey. Our plastic belemnite will withstand school projects and playtime and show well as an educational toy or collectors item. See our collection of plastic fossil animals the way they looked in real life.

About Belemnites

Belemnites (or belemnoids) are an extinct group of marine cephalopod, very similar in many ways to the modern squid and closely related to the modern cuttlefish. Belemnites were around from the late Carboniferous to the end of the Cretaceous, a period spanning over 200,000,000 (200 million) years. Belemnites were similar in shape to squid. The body consisted of a torpedo-shaped head and ten arms. The head contained the shell and all internal organs. Paired lateral fins on the head were used for swimming and steering. Eight of the arms were adorned with curved hooks for grasping onto soft-bodied prey. The other two arms were equipped with suckers. As with squid, belemnites possessed a beaklike mouth for eating, and an ink sac. The inklike contents could be ejected into the water, creating a dense cloud that confused an attacker and allowed the belemnite to escape. As with squid, belemnites probably traveled in schools, dove to considerable depths, and occasionally suffered mass mortality that produced large numbers of fossils in a relatively small area. Belemnites were aggressive, free-swimming, marine predators. They could swim slowly, propelled by a rhythmic beating of the lateral fins, or produce sudden bursts of speed through a jet-propulsion system. An area within the lower part of the head would fill with water and forcefully empty through a flexible fleshy tube called the funnel. This rapidly propelled the organism in the direction opposite to which the funnel was pointed. Generally they swam with head forward and arms trailing behind. Because belemnite eyes were located close to their arms they could not easily see where they were going. As with squid, rapidly swimming belemnites sometimes suffered damaging collisions, as evidenced by numerous fossils of broken shells that appear to have healed.

Come see the new belemnite in our online store!

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.