Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis |
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| Conservation status | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Family: | Ommastrephidae |
| Genus: | Sthenoteuthis |
| Species: |
S. oualaniensis
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| Binomial name | |
| Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis (Lesson, 1830)
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| Synonyms | |
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The purpleback flying squid (also called the purpleback squid) is a fascinating sea creature. Its scientific name is Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. This squid is a type of cephalopod, which is a group of ocean animals that includes octopuses and cuttlefish. You can find these squids in the warm waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. They are known for being one of the most common large squid species in the world.
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About the Purpleback Squid
Purpleback flying squids show differences between males and females. Usually, the female squids grow bigger than the males. Their teeth on their suckers also look different depending on their size and gender. This suggests they might eat different things as they grow.
These squids have different "forms" or types within their species. These forms can look a bit different, live in different places, and even lay eggs at different times.
- Medium Forms: These are the most common types. They have a special light-up patch on their back. Adult males are about 12 to 15 centimeters long. Adult females are larger, about 19 to 25 centimeters long. They live in many parts of the ocean and can dive quite deep.
- Smaller Forms: These squids do not have the light-up patch. They are found mostly near the equator in the Indo-Pacific. They spend most of their lives closer to the surface. Adult males are about 9 to 10 centimeters long. Adult females are about 9 to 12 centimeters long.
- Giant Forms: These are the largest types. They also have a light-up patch. They live in places like the Red Sea and Arabian Sea. Some giant females have been found to be over 70 centimeters long!
These different sizes and forms likely happen because of the different environments where the squids live.
Where They Live
Purpleback flying squids live in many different parts of the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific Ocean. They can be found from the surface down to more than 600 meters deep. There are a lot of these squids in the ocean. Scientists believe there are about 8 to 11 million tons of them! The Arabian Sea, especially from November to January, has a very high number of these squids.
What Purpleback Squids Eat
Purpleback flying squids are both hunters and hunted. This means they are predators (they eat other animals) and prey (other animals eat them). As they grow bigger, they move up the food chain.
They use a hard, sharp beak to eat their food. This beak is made of strong materials like protein. It helps them tear and bite their meals. The beak is very important for scientists because it can help identify the squid species. As a squid grows, its beak changes. The darker parts of the beak are harder, and these changes are linked to how much the squid grows and what it eats.
These squids are very fast and active hunters. They can move quickly through the water and react fast to things around them. If they feel in danger, they can even jump out of the water and glide for over ten meters! An adult squid usually swims at about 3 to 10 kilometers per hour. But when they need to escape, they can burst to speeds of up to 35 kilometers per hour!
Purpleback squids often swim together in groups called shoals. These groups can have anywhere from two to 800 squids. Sometimes, they even swim with other types of large squids, like the Humboldt squid and the Neon flying squid.
What a purpleback squid eats depends on its size:
- Young Squids (Paralarvae): These tiny squids mostly eat very small ocean creatures called copepods and amphipods.
- Juvenile Squids: As they get a bit bigger (about 1 to 8 centimeters long), they eat larger plankton like euphausiids and other small fish, especially lanternfish.
- Adult Squids: When they are fully grown, they prefer to eat larger fish and even other squids. Sometimes, they even eat other purpleback flying squids, which is called cannibalism.
Who Eats Purpleback Squids
Many different animals hunt purpleback flying squids throughout their lives.
- Paralarvae and Juveniles: These smaller squids are eaten by creatures like jellyfish, small squids, and many types of small fish.
- Larger Juveniles: Squids that are about 3 to 12 centimeters long are hunted by big Humboldt squids, dolphinfish, snake mackerel, lancetfish, and many types of tuna. Many sea birds also eat smaller squids near islands.
- Medium to Large Squids: Adult purpleback squids are prey for large ocean predators. These include swordfish, striped marlin, and many kinds of sharks like the blue shark, dusky shark, oceanic whitetip shark, silky shark, and smooth hammerhead shark. Even large marine mammals like the sperm whale and the Galápagos fur seal hunt them.
Life Cycle and Reproduction
Purpleback squids are thought to live for about one year. However, the lifespan of the very largest squids is not fully known.
These squids do not have special mating dances or rituals. They mate quickly, usually at night near the surface of the water. Mating can last up to two minutes. After mating, the male transfers up to 150 sperm packets to the female.
Female purpleback squids can lay eggs all year round, with peak times depending on their specific form. They lay their eggs in batches, not all at once, over a period of up to three months. The eggs are released near the surface of the ocean at night.
After the eggs are laid, they form large, jelly-like masses that float on the water. The female squid continues to eat and grow while her next batch of eggs gets ready. How fast the eggs develop depends on the water temperature. For example, in water that is 25°C, the eggs hatch in about three to six days. The eggs are very small, less than 1 millimeter. When they hatch, the baby squids are only about 1 millimeter long.
Purpleback squids grow very quickly. The dwarf and medium-sized squids grow about 1 millimeter longer each day. The giant forms grow even faster, about 3.8 millimeters longer every day!
When the baby squid hatches, it is in a special stage called the "paralarval stage." During this time, its tentacles are joined together to form a trunk-like proboscis with a few suckers at the end. This stage ends when the squid grows to about 7 to 8 millimeters long, and its tentacles separate.
 | Jewel Prestage |
 | Ella Baker |
 | Fannie Lou Hamer |
