Aug 28, 2022
Bobtail squid skin under a microscope (squid was alive, went back home to her tank right after this!)
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Bobtail squid skin under a microscope (squid was alive, went back home to her tank right after this!)
My amigurumi designs wouldn’t be the same without these beautiful color changing safety eyes! 👀✨❤️ The Chromatophore plastic safety eyes are from GlassEyesOnLine Etsy shop.
Bioluminescent Bobtail Squid
This adorable little creature is one of over 70 cephalopod species known collectively as bobtail squid (sometimes called dumpling or stubby squid). They belong to the order Sepiolida and are closely related to the cuttlefish (order Sepiida). Although the squid closely resemble their cousins and swim in the same manner (jet propulsion or using the fins on their mantle), they do not have a cuttlebone, but, like all other cephalopods, possess a distinctive head, arms and/or tentacles (which are actually a modified form of the molluscan foot observed in snails), bilateral symmetry and the ability to squirt ink.
The bobtail squid is small; the mantle (the winged body section that lies above the head) of a typical male measures between 1-8 cm long. They inhabit the shallow, coastal waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as the western coast of the Cape Peninsula off of South Africa.The Humming-bird or Berry’s bobtail squid (Euprymna berryi) in the picture is found in the waters off of East Timor and measures ~3-5 cm. The brilliant colouration comes from special cells known as chromatophores, which are pigmented light-reflecting cells, controlled by muscular action.
Bobtail squid have a symbiotic relationship with a bioluminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri) that live within a special light organ in the squid’s mantle. In exchange for sugars and amino acids, the bacteria filter the outgoing bioluminescence so that the squid’s mantle (when viewed from below) is the same shade as the light that hits the top of the mantle. In other words, they give the squid an 'invisibility cloak'. This symbiotic relationship begins from the moment the squid hatches, and its maturity is dependent on morphological changes induced by bacterial colonisation.
YK Image credit: By Nick Hobgood, 2005 (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bobtail_squid.jpg). Used under the creative commons license.
Further reading: Bobtail squid (includes some good videos) -http://bit.ly/1w63lhV More about the bioluminescent bacteria -http://bit.ly/1xoh709 & http://bit.ly/1Ao3I9m &http://bit.ly/1wMfjca Cephlapod chromatophores (warning - large PDF! Very comprehensive teaching guide with educational activities) http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/cephschool/HowCephalopodsChangeColor.pdf
إن قدرة الأخطبوط على تغيير لونه جذريًا وأحيانًا على الفور أمر رائع للغاية!
ويرجع ذلك إلى الكروماتوفورز Chromatophores المتخصصة للغاية - وهي خلايا الجلد الصبغية. هذه الخلايا الكبيرة محاطة بتاج من الألياف العضلية، على شكل أشعة يمكن أن تنكمش في أي لحظة فتعطي لون غامق. وعندما يزول الانكماش، تتمدد الخلية الصبغية، فتعطي لون فاتح.
What are the speckles on this baby squid? Chromatophores!
Chromatophores are special pigmented cells that enable squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish to rapidly change color and texture. This color-changing skill helps them camouflage themselves with their surroundings, and also assists with communication.
This baby squid was found in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary by researchers with the ACCESS Partnership. ACCESS conducts regular monitoring expeditions within national marine sanctuaries in California to better understand habitat and ecosystem conditions.
(Photo: Ryan Anderson/NOAA/Pt. Blue/ACCESS)
[Image description: A translucent baby squid with red dots swims in a dish of water.]
Ah—so that’s how it works!
Dumb question but do all cephalopods have chromatophores and can they all change all their colors or is there like a certain range of colors they can change to? And does their pattern stay even if they change color or can they change patterns too?
Ooh good question! MOST cuttlefish, octopuses, and squid have chromatophores, especially in shallow water, but some deep sea squid and octopuses do not. Nautiluses do not have chromatophores. If they don't have chromatophores the only way to change color is by lighting up with photophores, but some have neither!
Happy Squid Day from this Atlantic brief squid in Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary!
Look closely at this little squid -- see those small red dots? Those are chromatophores, specialized cells that change color. Squid and octopuses use these cells to camouflage themselves, flash warnings to predators, and communicate with one another.
(Photo: G.P. Schmahl/NOAA)