Umbrella squid facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Umbrella squid |
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| Museum model of Histioteuthis bonnellii | |
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List
Cranchia bonnellii
Férussac, 1835 Cranchia bonelliana Férussac, 1835 Histioteuthis bonelliana Orbigny, 1835 Histioteuthis ruppelli Vérany, 1851 Histioteuthis collinsi Verrill, 1879 Histiopsis atlantica Hoyle, 1885 |
Histioteuthis bonnellii, the umbrella squid, is a species of cock-eyed squid belonging to the family Histioteuthidae.
Contents
Distribution
This species is distributed mostly in the Atlantic Ocean. It can be found off the coast of Argentina, South Africa, and the Tasman Sea. There is a population in the Mediterranean. There may be several subspecies that exist in the Atlantic Ocean.
Habitat
These squids can be found in mid water between 100 and 2200 m in depth. Juveniles usually inhabit the upper water column between 100 and 200 m, while larger individuals can be found between 200 and 800 m and most of mature specimens have been caught between 1000 and 2200 m in depth.
Description
H. bonnellii is one of the larger species in its genus, usually reaching 33 cm in mantle length and a total length of 119 cm. Mature males can reach a mantle length of 50–330 millimetres (2.0–13.0 in).
Body of these small to medium sized squids have a purplish color. Moreover they have various luminous organs, especially on the mantle, the arms and the long tentacles. The tentacles are connected by a membrane. The eyes of this animal are not symmetrical and they differ per side of the head.
Biology
Histioteuthis bonnellii is able to change color. It moves forward by pumping water into its mantle and pushing it out again through the siphon. It is a carnivore and its food consists mainly of fish, crabs, lobsters and molluscs caught with its suckers.
These cephalopods are predated by Northern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon ampullatus), Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus), Blue shark (Prionace glauca), Swordfish (Xiphias gladius) and Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris).
Gallery
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Illustration from Die Cephalopoden
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Histioteuthis bonnellii by Ernst Haeckel (as "Histioteuthis Rüppellii")
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Lower and upper parts of the beak
