Southern dumpling squid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southern dumpling squid |
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The Euprymna tasmanica, also known as the southern dumpling squid or southern bobtail squid, is a small bobtail squid. It lives in shallow coastal waters around southern Australia. You can find them in waters from half a meter deep to at least 80 meters deep.
These squid live for about 5 to 8 months. Adult squid can grow up to 6 or 7 centimeters long. Their main body, called the mantle, is about 3 to 4 centimeters long. They like to live in seagrass beds or areas with soft, muddy bottoms. You can find them from Brisbane on the east coast to Shark Bay on the west, and also around Tasmania.
Southern dumpling squid are active at night. During the day, they hide in sand or mud. They cover themselves with a special coat of sediment held by mucus. If something bothers them, they can quickly remove this coat. This acts as a trick to confuse predators, along with squirting ink!
What Does It Look Like?
Like other bobtail squid, the southern dumpling squid has a special light organ. This organ glows because of tiny glowing bacteria that live inside it. The light organ is shaped like a butterfly and is inside the squid's mantle. It helps the squid hide by canceling out its shadow, making it harder for predators to see it from below.
These squid have large, half-circle shaped fins on the back half of their mantle. They can change their color, but they are usually a shiny green or yellow with brown spots. Their arms have four rows of suckers. Both their arms and tentacles have tough, toothed rings around the suckers.
Life Cycle
It's easy to tell male southern dumpling squid from females. Males have one arm, the first left arm, that is larger and specially shaped for mating. This arm is called a hectocotylus.
Females lay 2 or 3 groups of eggs over a few weeks. Each group can have between 25 and 170 round, creamy orange eggs. Females usually die about one to two weeks after laying their eggs. Males die a short time after mating.
The eggs can take up to four and a half months to hatch, depending on how warm the water is. Because of this long waiting time, the eggs must be quite large. This ensures there is enough food inside for the baby squid to develop properly. If a female doesn't eat enough while making eggs, she might lay fewer and smaller eggs. This can lead to many baby squid not surviving.
Southern dumpling squid parents do not take care of their young. However, the baby squid are very developed when they hatch. They can even catch prey that is twice their own size! Young squid are not born with the glowing bacteria for their light organ. They have to catch these bacteria from the water before their light organ can fully work.
What's in a Name?
The southern dumpling squid is often called the southern bobtail squid. But this common name can be confusing! There is another, smaller Australian bobtail squid species that also goes by the name "southern bobtail squid." That other species hasn't been given a scientific name yet.
- M Norman & A Reid, (2000), A Guide to Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopuses of Australasia. Moorabbin, The Gould League of Australia. ISBN: 0-643-06577-6
