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without this symbiosis, the squid’s light organ never reaches its mature form..
(Illustration by Paul Jackman)
brought to you by Graphic Services for Science and Graphic Biology
This is a real life, alive Giant Squid found off the coast of Japan. This video was recorded on December 24th, 2015.
This Giant Squid is 3.7 metres long (12 feet), but specimens have been found that are more than 12 metres long.
Watch the video and read more about this encounter below:
Behold the strawberry squid and its remarkable mismatched eyes. Researchers from Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and Duke University teamed up to figure out what was up with that.
Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis)
Taxonomy: The Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally translates to “vampire squid from hell” was first described in 1903 and was thought to be an octopus with eight arms. Subsequent sightings of it showed two additional arms were discovered tucking into pockets. It is currently, the only animal in the order Vampyromorphida, an order “in between” octopus and squid, mainly due to the addition of sensory filaments believed to be used for finding food in the deep sea.
Characteristics: V. infernalis is most commonly known for its jet-black skin, the “cape” webbed skin between the arms and eyes that appear blood red at times. It has excellent predator avoidance behavior, including the ability to invert itself, exposing suckers and cirri, making it look as though it is covered in spines. V. infernalis also has light organs on the tip of each arm and at the base of its fins. The animal will begin to glow and wiggle about while also expelling mucus containing “thousands of glowing spheres of blue bioluminescent light.” While this mucus is being expelled, the vampire squid escapes.
Size: Average size for V. infernalis is between 25 – 30 cm (9-12 inches). For its size, the vampire squid has the largest eyes of any animal in the world; approximately the size of a wolf or full-grown dog.
Distribution and habitat: V. infernalis lives in the oxygen minimum layer (600-800 m depth) because it is highly effective at removing oxygen from the water due to a pigment that easily binds oxygen (hemocyanin). It also has a very low metabolic rate and high gill surface areas. Specimens have been collected from tropical and subtopical waters worldwide.
Hummingbird Bobtail Squid (Euprymna berryi)
Also known as Berry’s bobtail squid, the hummingbird bobtail squid is a species of bobtail squid found throughout the warm waters of eastern Asia. Like most bobtail squid, berry’s bobtail squid has a light organ in its gill cavity which emits light to help it hide its silhouette from predators. During the day the hummingbird bobtail squid can be found buried in the sediment, at night they will emerge to feed on small invertebrates like shrimp and other crustaceans.
Phylogeny
Animalia-Mollusca-Cephalopoda-Sepiolida-Sepiolidae-Sepiolinae-Euprymna-berryi
Cephalopods - Chameleons of the Sea
Cuttlefish, Octopus and Squid all have pigment cells - called chromatophores - consisting of yellow, red and brown pigments which allow them to change their appearance. There are up to 200 of these cells per square millimeter and each of them are controlled through muscle contractions - instead of hormones like other marine organisms - allowing them to consciously control them.
When signaling to change colors, the chromatophores can be rapidly expanded and then relaxed to hide the pigments and can even stay camouflaged while asleep. Chromatophores, however, only one type of cells. Other cells are layered below, made of white and iridescent pigments to reflect other wavelengths of light like blue and green.
Using all of these pigments, the cephalopods typically use 3 major pattern types; Uniform, Mottle (small light/dark splotches) and Disruptive. One of the coolest patterns is the Passing Cloud pattern which is used to hypnotize their prey. Among all of these amazing attributes, they can also change their skin texture voluntarily to match the object they are trying to hide next to and they do this through visual perception rather than touch.
Videos: Insane in the Chromatophores - playing the chromatophores to a beat Octopus Camouflage Passing Cloud Pattern Info: Chromatophore Signaling Cuttlefish - DiscoveryNetworks
