Mystical, magical, mystery squid 🤩
The long-armed jewel squid (Stigmatoteuthis dofleini) has eyes that are very different in size and structure. Like their strawberry squid cousins, these cockeyed squid have developed eyes that are highly modified to find food, avoid being eaten, and find a mate with maximum efficiency in a light-limited environment. Cockeyed squid are born with two identical eyes, just like any other squid hatchling, but as they develop into juveniles, the left eye begins to surge in size. By the time they reach adulthood, the left eye can be more than twice as big as the right one! It also develops a semi-tubular structure and often has a striking yellow lens. Together, this unlikely pair helps the squid hunt for food in the ocean’s twilight zone. The big left eye looks upward to spot shadows cast by prey in the dimly lit waters above. The eye’s tubular shape helps collect as much downwelling light as possible. Often, this eye has a yellow lens to see through the luminescent camouflage of its prey. The squid’s right eye is small and looks downward. This eye searches for flashes of bioluminescence produced by prey or predators lurking in the darker waters below.
