Saturday, August 28, 2010

Have you ever heard of the Piglet Squid?


Sometimes I find myself wandering throughout the interweb and I found this little creature called the Piglet Squid!
Piglet Squid: Helicocranchia pfefferi


This funny looking squid is about the size of a small avocado and can be found most commonly in the deep water (greater than 100 m or 320 ft) of virtually all oceans. Its habit of filling up water and the funny location of its siphone with a wild-looking 'tuft' of eight arms and two tentacles had prompted scientists to name it the piglet squid!


The body is just shy of being clear revealing a dark mass that is the internal organs and barely visible, feather-like gills. Pigment organs dot the surface of the skin of the squid. In this picture a row of these 'chromatophores' provide a smile-like look. There are two small fins at the opposite end of the body and head. Very little is known about its' biology. It has been observed from submersiles in the head down oriengation, but no one is sure why. It is a sluggish swimmer with ammonium ions in its body fluid that helps keep it bouyant. A large light producing organ (photophore) is located beneath each of its large eyes.

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