Squid have been around for millions of years and live in every ocean in the world. There are over 300 species. They vary in size from pygmy squid (the size of a pinky fingernail) to the 59-foot long giant squid. I'm sure I'm not the only marine writer who finds these wonderful creatures fascinating. Here are a few fun facts to share why I think they're so interesting.
Fun squid facts
- The oldest known example of a squid-like creature attacking prey dates back almost 200 million years.
- The deepest recording of a bigfin squid was a staggering three miles below the surface.
- Classified as a type of cephalopod – Greek for “head foot” – the squid’s organs are contained within a soft, elongated mantle behind its head. This is supported by an internal shell called a gladius, or pen, to which the muscles attach and keep the animal in shape.
- Squid move by jet propulsion, ejecting water from their mantle through a siphon.
- Squid have three hearts: two to push blood through the gills and one to pump blood around the body.
- The giant squid’s eye is larger than any other eye in the animal kingdom – the size of a volleyball
More fun facts!
- These animals use their hard parrot-like beak to kill and eat their prey, which include fish, crustaceans – and other squid!
- Two long sucker-tipped tentacles near the mouth grab the prey while eight sucker-lined arms hold its meal while it eats. Each sucker is covered in strong, tooth-like denticles to help it grasp onto slippery, struggling prey.
- Squid mate at about a year old and die soon after that. The male stays close to the female – known as mate guarding – until she lays her eggs to stop any others mating with her.
- Species such as the Humboldt squid hunt in packs.
- The species Octopoteuthis deletron has the unique ability to distract predators by tearing off the wriggling tips of its own arms and leaving them behind.
- Squid can squirt ink clouds as a distraction to escape predators, while Japanese pygmy squid (Idiosepius paradoxus) release ink as a smokescreen when hunting.
- Deep-sea squid, Grimalditeuthis bonplandi, uses its long, tentacle-free suckers like a fishing lure – mimicking tiny marine organisms to attract prey.
- Whether they are on the attack or under attack, they can change colour or even become transparent to blend into their surroundings using chromatophores. Copying this ability has led to the development of smart camouflage materials.
- These intelligent creatures also change the patterns on their skin to send coded messages to each other.
- The squid’s dentacles inspired the creation of synthetic proteins that are used to make eco-friendly packaging.
These animals once had a legendary reputation as the origin of the terrifying, ship-devouring sea monster: the Kraken. However, they have now been recognised in the UK as sentient beings. This means they feel pain, distress, pleasure, boredom and excitement. This recognition means policymakers must consider their welfare when making decisions.
Far from being brutes that terrorise humans, their ingenious behaviours have pushed forward futuristic innovations like intelligent camouflage and self-healing robots.
How you can help
- Why not support the Greenpeace campaign against overfishing and the effect it has on squid stocks?
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