Googly-eyed glass squid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Googly-eyed glass squid |
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| Conservation status | |
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| Genus: |
Teuthowenia
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| Species: |
pellucida
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| Synonyms | |
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The googly-eyed glass squid (scientific name: Teuthowenia pellucida) is a special type of glass squid. It lives deep in the ocean. You can find this rare creature in the oceans all around the Southern Hemisphere.
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What Makes It Special?
The googly-eyed glass squid is a very unique animal. It has a blue, see-through body. It can grow to be about 200 millimeters (8 inches) long. This squid is famous for its really big eyes, which look a bit like "googly eyes"!
Its body covering, called a mantle, is super thin. It's only a few millimeters thick. Female squids are usually a little bigger than males. This squid has eight short tentacles. It also has two slightly longer tentacles at the end of its body.
You can hardly see any internal organs inside its clear body. The only one that stands out is its digestive gland. This gland is similar to a liver in other animals.
How It Defends Itself
The googly-eyed glass squid has cool ways to stay safe. If a predator comes near, it can suck in a lot of water. This makes its body swell up and look much bigger. It tries to scare away enemies by looking more intimidating.
It can also escape quickly using jet propulsion. This means it shoots water out to zoom away fast!
Where Does It Live?
Googly-eyed glass squids live in a specific part of the ocean. They are found along the 40° southern latitude line. This includes parts of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
Young squids, called immature squids, usually live at depths of about 900 meters (3,000 feet). Older, mature squids live much deeper. They can be found between 1,600 and 2,400 meters (5,200 to 7,900 feet) below the surface.
Life Cycle
The life of a googly-eyed glass squid starts with eggs. The female squid lays her eggs in groups. These egg clusters are often attached to rocks and plants on the ocean floor.
After the eggs hatch, the baby squids grow quickly. They become tiny larvae. Female squids are ready to have babies when they are about 150 to 190 millimeters long. Males mature when they reach about 140 millimeters.
A pregnant female squid can carry many eggs. She might have between 6,000 and 8,000 eggs at one time! Each egg is about 2.2 millimeters wide. Because the squid's mantle is so thin, you can often see these tiny eggs right through her body.
Glowing in the Deep
The googly-eyed glass squid lives in the bathyal zone. This part of the ocean is very dark. To help it see and be seen, the squid has special glowing organs.
These organs are called photophores. They are made of special cells found in the squid's eyes and tentacles. Photophores can release their own light. This makes the squid glow in the darkness of the deep sea.
Making this light needs energy. This energy comes from a molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). It's like the fuel that powers the squid's glow!
See also
