strawberry squid It is one of the most amazing squid species in existence. It is characterized by its small and bulging eyes at first glance. Actually yesIts two eyes are different in size: one small and blue, the other large and yellow.. The large eye is believed to use it to see objects against the dim light coming from the surface, while the small eye is believed to use it to look at the dark seafloor.
But in addition, another feature is the tone of his skin. The popular name for the squid is, in fact, due to the rich red pigmentation of its skin and presence of photophores (light-producing organs) in your bodygives it a strong resemblance to a cored strawberry.
This species lives in the mesopelagic zone of the ocean and can be found in the California Current and the Humboldt Current in the Pacific. Little is known about their specific feeding and mating behaviors, but Tuna is part of the diet of well-known species such as some sharks or sperm whales.
“This is a good example of how they lived in two very different environments,” says Jon Ablett, senior director of mollusks at the Natural History Museum in London.
Although strawberry squid (histioteuthis heteropsis) has been known to science for decades, scientists recently caught a specimen on an expedition to the remote Atlantic islands of Ascension and Saint Helena. Using an ultraviolet torch to illuminate, The small body of the squid glowed with ruby-red spots.
“Once you get to about 15 centimeters, everything suddenly glows red, and the closer you get, the stronger the color,” said James Maclaine, senior fish officer at the Natural History Museum. “It’s really impressive,” he stressed.
To his knowledge, no other scientist has attempted to shine ultraviolet light on deep-sea animals. Maclaine discovered that some, such as jewel squid and viperfish, had bright red spots and some, such as anglerfish, did not.
Emits light from your body
The small photophores it distributes are mainly used for two purposes: counter-illumination and adaptation to the environment. And this The squid produces blue light through its photophores, so when viewed from above it mixes with the descending sunlight and actually hides its silhouette.. This type of bioluminescence is characterized by continuous light production. But when it wants to escape its predators, it uses another type of lighting, characterized by: short bursts of bright light or “flashes”‘.
In seafood nets, H. heteropsis plays an important role in the diets of tuna, dolphins, blue sharks, sperm whales, elephant seals and albatrosses. There is not much information about his diet. H. heteropsis Although limited assessments of stomach contents indicate that they feed on smaller fish, crustaceans and squid.
In 1913, Berry discovered the strawberry squid and recognized it as a member of the Histioteuthis family due to the large number of photophores. Based on important morphological features, it appears to be closely related. H. meleagro teuthis And H. bonnellii.
According to a 2010 assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), strawberry squid is classified as Least Concern. There are no known threats to the species and no population information is available. The IUCN recommends further research on the species to determine details about its population and ecological role.
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