Atlantic bird squid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Atlantic bird squid |
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Ornithoteuthis antillarum, also known as the Atlantic bird squid, is a type of flying squid. It belongs to the family Ommastrephidae. You can find this squid in the warmer parts of the Atlantic Ocean. It is an important food source for many fish and cetaceans (like whales and dolphins). While it's sometimes caught by accident during fishing, it could become a valuable catch if new fishing methods are developed.
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About the Atlantic Bird Squid
The Atlantic bird squid has a long, thin, and strong body called a mantle. This mantle ends in a long, pointed tail. Its fins are also long and shaped like arrows. They have sharp tips and curved edges. The biggest Atlantic bird squid ever found had a mantle about 300 mm (about 1 foot) long. Its fins are more than half the length of its body.
Inside its body, the squid has three special light-producing organs called photophores. One is near its rear, another is on its gut, and a third long one forms a strip. The squid's head is wide, often as wide as its body. It also has a glowing patch on the underside of each eye.
The squid's tentacular clubs (the ends of its long feeding arms) have suckers. These suckers help it grab food. The larger suckers have sharp, round teeth around their edges. The smaller suckers are different sizes depending on where they are on the arm. Males and females have slightly different sucker teeth on their arms. One of the male's right arms is special, called a hectocotylised arm. It has small suckers and a unique honeycomb-like skin pattern.
Where the Atlantic Bird Squid Lives
The Atlantic bird squid lives in the warm, tropical, and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. You can find it on both the eastern and western sides of the Atlantic. In the eastern Atlantic, it lives between 20°N and 25°S latitude. In the western Atlantic, its range is wider, from 40°N to 40°S latitude. The first specimen ever studied was found near Basse Terre, Guadeloupe.
Life in the Ocean
The Atlantic bird squid is an pelagic species, meaning it lives in the open ocean. It is most common near the edges of continental slopes, which are the slopes leading from continents down to the deep ocean floor. These squids are usually found at depths between 100 and 600 meters (about 330 to 2,000 feet).
Young squids (called paralarvae) and adults are often seen in places like the Gulf of Mexico, the Straits of Florida, and the Gulf Stream. They also extend south into the Caribbean Sea and off the coast of Brazil. These squids do not seem to swim in large groups. They are common from the middle of the ocean all the way down near the seabed. However, they have never been seen resting on the very bottom.
In the Caribbean, Atlantic bird squids have been seen at the surface at night. Many have been caught at night over deep waters in the eastern South Atlantic. This suggests they might move up towards the surface at night and go deeper during the day. This is called a partial diel migration.
The Atlantic bird squid is a fast swimmer, which helps it avoid being caught in nets. Scientists have even seen and filmed them using submersibles (small underwater vehicles). When resting, they often hang head-down in the water with their arms curled back. This is known as the “J” posture.
Growth and Life Cycle
This squid grows quickly and lives for about 182 days (around six months). Their growth slows down as they get older. Males and females are found in equal numbers. As they mature, they are thought to travel to areas around sea mounts to lay their eggs.
Young squids live in the middle layers of the ocean, over slopes and deep ocean areas. When they are ready to reproduce, the adults move to waters near sea mounts and ocean ridges. They then lay their eggs on or near the bottom.
Female squids from warmer waters can produce between 50,000 and 220,000 eggs. The eggs are very small, only about 0.7 to 1.0 mm wide. Females lay their eggs in batches, producing several egg masses over a long period. Each egg mass can contain up to 1,500 eggs. This spawning period can last from six weeks to three months. Spawning seems to happen all year round, with busy times in April–May, August–September, and December–January in the eastern-central Atlantic.
What the Atlantic Bird Squid Eats
The Atlantic bird squid eats many different kinds of small prey. The most common food for them are small crustaceans called amphipods. They also eat the young of other squids and small carnivorous fish. A squid about 140 mm long was once filmed eating a bristlemouth fish at a depth of 684 meters in the Bahamas.
What they eat changes as they grow. Smaller squids (less than 4mm long) mainly eat tiny crustaceans called copepods. As they get bigger (over 4mm long), they start eating more decapod crustaceans (like shrimp and crabs) and other cephalopods (like other squids).
Who Eats the Atlantic Bird Squid
Many animals prey on the Atlantic bird squid. These include fish that live in the upper and middle layers of the ocean. Some of the fish that eat them are the common dolphinfish, Atlantic sailfishes, skipjack tuna, white marlin, albacore, yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna, and swordfish.
They are also eaten by cetaceans (whales and dolphins), such as the pygmy sperm whale and orca (killer whale). For example, the Atlantic bird squid is a very important part of the winter diet for yellowfin tuna off the coast of Brazil.
Squid and Fisheries
The Atlantic bird squid is not usually the main target for fishing boats. However, it is sometimes caught by accident. This squid could become an important catch for commercial fisheries in the future. This is because it is a common species, meaning there are enough of them to be harvested. Also, its flesh is firm, muscular, and tastes good.
