People may use the phrase “burying your head in the sand” for its negative connotation, but such disappearing acts are incredibly important defense mechanisms for creatures like squids. In this Instagram video, a bobtail squid conceals itself under the sand. Burying your head in the sand is a great way to avoid unwanted information. It is also a great way to stay hidden from dangerous predators. As such, let’s learn more about the bobtail squid, its attributes, characteristics, diet, and more.
What Is the Bobtail Squid?
Like their relative, the cuttlefish, bobtail squids can swim using their fins or via jet propulsion.
©DiveIvanov/Shutterstock.com
When people think of squids, they imagine large, psychedelic-looking creatures gliding through the sea. The bobtail squid glides, but it would take some great vision to spot it from any distance. That’s because bobtail squids (of the family Sepiolidae) are tiny. Males, for example, range between a third of an inch and 3.15 inches long. Bobtail squids are called dumpling squids because, well, they look like tiny dumplings.
They are characterized by reddish-brown speckled bodies, eight suckered arms, and two tentacles. Bobtail squids comprise a family of cephalopods (Sepiolidae) that includes several genera, such as those containing Pacific Bobtail Squids and Striped Pyjama Squids. These sepiolids live in shallow waters along the coast in various parts of the world. Most specimens live in shallow Pacific Ocean coastal waters. Other populations, however, live in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and off the west coast of South Africa’s Cape Peninsula. Like their relative, the cuttlefish, bobtails swim by using their fins or by shooting out water via jet propulsion. As for diet, they feed on shrimp and small crustaceans.
Camouflage Tactics
While these critters hide in the sand by day, they use bioluminescent bacteria to blend in with moonlight at night.
©Luca Vaime/Shutterstock.com
In this Instagram video, a bobtail squid gets down in the sand and quickly covers itself until it’s barely visible. It may seem like overkill, but minuscule bobtail squids need all the protection they can get from larger sea creatures and predators. During daylight hours, they usually dig down in the sand and cover their bodies. By keeping a layer of grit on top, they can usually blend in. If that fails, however, these critters shoot out a blob of ink. They have no chance of stopping a big predator, but an ink spot shaped like their bodies and left in the sand gives them a diversion to escape.
When it comes to avoiding danger, the little bobtail squid needs all the help it can get. This Instagram video, however, only shows one of the defensive tools in their arsenal. At night, bobtail squids use a remarkable technique called bioluminescence. They have a symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria that live in a light organ within the squid’s mantle, allowing them to glow.
This works because the bacteria are fed a sugar and amino acid solution by the bobtails, which helps hide their silhouette from below by matching the light hitting their mantleIts mantle organ also contains special filters that alter the wavelength of the luminescence. At night, this adaptation helps the squids mimic moonlight, eliminate their own shadows, and remain hidden from predators.
The post This Tiny Squid Uses Camouflage and Light to Become Practically Invisible appeared first on A-Z Animals.
