Shiny bird squid facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Shiny bird squid
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Ommastrephidae
Subfamily:	Ommastrephinae
Genus:	Ornithoteuthis
Species:	O. volatilis
Binomial name
Ornithoteuthis volatilis (Sasaki, 1915)
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Synonyms
Ommastrephes volatilis Sasaki, 1915

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Ornithoteuthis volatilis, also known as the shiny bird squid, is a type of squid. It belongs to a group called Ommastrephinae, which are often called "flying squids" because they can launch themselves out of the water! This squid lives in warm, tropical and subtropical parts of the Indo-Pacific oceans. It's a bit bigger than its cousin, Ornithoteuthis antillarum, which lives in the Atlantic Ocean.

What the Shiny Bird Squid Looks Like

The shiny bird squid has a wide head. Its body, called a mantle, is narrow and muscular. The mantle gets thinner towards the back, ending in a long, pointed tail. The head is much wider than the body.

This squid has long, arrow-shaped fins. These fins become sharply pointed near the tail. Their back edges curve inward. The fins are about half as long as the mantle. They are also nearly half as wide as the mantle.

Arms and Suckers

The shiny bird squid has eight arms.

• The first three pairs of arms have at least 50 suckers each.
• The fourth pair of arms has 75 suckers each.
• The suckers on the second and third arms are larger.
• The suckers near the base of the arms have very close-set teeth.
• The largest suckers have 10 to 14 sharp, pointed teeth. These teeth are closely packed, with long and short ones alternating.

Male squids have a special arm called a hectocotylus. This is usually the fourth arm on the right side. It's used for reproduction. The first two-thirds of this arm have 14 large suckers. After these, there are 20 smaller suckers. The last third of the arm has 25 pairs of suckers. These suckers have swollen bases.

Tentacles and Light Organs

The squid's tentacles have special clubs at their ends. These clubs are about half the length of the tentacles. They have 12 suckers in the wrist area. Each of these suckers has 8 to 12 cone-shaped teeth. The main part of the club has four rows of suckers. The two middle rows are much larger. The largest suckers are about three times bigger than the ones on the edges.

The shiny bird squid has special light-producing organs called photophores. These are similar to those found in its relative, O. antillarum.

• There are three photophores inside its body.
• One is oval-shaped near the anus.
• Another is behind the intestine.
• A long, strip-like photophore extends from a small one to the back tip of the mantle. This strip glows with a pinkish light.

The biggest female shiny bird squids found were about 25 centimeters (10 inches) long. Males can be even larger, up to 31 centimeters (12 inches) long.

Where They Live

The shiny bird squid lives in the warm, tropical, and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region.

• In the western Pacific, they are found from 36°N to 38°S latitude. They reach as far east as the Line Islands.
• In the Indian Ocean, they range from the Arabian Sea south to Madagascar. They also live east to the Timor Sea and south to the waters off eastern Australia.
• They have even been seen in the Atlantic Ocean, near Namibia.

Life and Habits

Ornithoteuthis volatilis lives in tropical ocean waters. Adult squids can be found near the surface at night. During the day, they go to moderate depths. They also live near the bottom in deep ocean zones. Sometimes, they are found in midwater above continental slopes, sea mounts, and underwater ridges. Young squids can also be found in midwater near the equator.

Reproduction

This squid lays very small eggs, less than 1 millimeter (0.04 inches) across. They lay several batches of eggs over a long time. Male squids produce sperm packets called spermatophores. These packets are about 10% of the male's mantle length. A mature male can have around 100 spermatophores.

These squids live near or over underwater slopes. Young squids are found in the upper and middle parts of the ocean. They live above sea mounts, mid-ocean ridges, and continental slopes. They lay their eggs near the seabed around sea mounts and ridges. They might travel long distances to reach these spawning areas.

Off eastern Australia, they lay eggs all year round. This happens in deeper shelf waters where the warm East Australian Current flows. In the northern South China Sea, spawning occurs from June to October. In the western North Pacific Ocean, they spawn in the summer. Their young are found in the Kuroshio Current off Japan.

Food and Predators

The shiny bird squid is an active hunter. It eats many different, fairly small animals. Many other animals hunt the shiny bird squid.

• Fish: Tropical and subtropical fish like yellowfin tuna, longnose lancetfish, dolphinfish, and swordfish.
• Marine Mammals: Sperm whales and South African fur seals eat a lot of these squids.
• Sharks: Several shark species, including the tiger shark, the scalloped hammerhead shark, and the smooth hammerhead shark, also prey on them.

These squids can even glide short distances out of the water, similar to flying fish!