Short-finned squid | Squid, Shortfinned, Tentacles, Body, Have

Short-finned squid

Short-finned squid/Boreal squid (Illex illecebrosus) Many people have heard of the giant squid that lives in the deep ocean and can reach lengths over 60 feet! The possibility of seeing a giant squid off New England is quite remote, but there are several smaller species of squid, including the short-finned squid, which you my encounter. The short-finned squid has a long, slender, cylindrical body, or mantle, that measures about 9 inches long. Like most animals, squid do have skeletons but they are extremely reduced and are located within the body cavity instead of on the outside. Short-finned squid have 8 shorter tentacles and 2 longer arms, all of which are lined with suckers. Squid use these tentacles to catch prey such as small fish, crustaceans, and even other squid! Contrary to what you might think, the front of the squid is where the tentacles are.

NOAA image

The head of the squid is located just above the tentacles and contains the well developed eyes and also a strong parrot-like beak at the mouth. At the opposite end of the body, where the mantle comes to a point, are 2 triangularly shaped fins. These fins are about 1/3 the total length of the mantle and are used in swimming. Squid are very fast swimmers and can swim both forwards and backwards! They swim forward using their fins and swim backwards using a sort of jet-propulsion. They take water into their body cavity then, using a tubular siphon, forcefully expel the water out of their body, which propels them backward. This siphon is also used to expel ink. Squid have ink sacs inside their bodies. When threatened, a squid can shoot out the ink, which confuses the predator and allows the squid to escape. The short-finned squid is found from Northern New England down to Cape Cod Bay. They are often seen swimming in large schools around inshore waters during the summer months. There are also instances of theses schools stranding on the beach during the fall months. The short-finned squid is also known as the flying squid because of its ability to glide above the surface of the water for short distances. Occasionally, the short-finned squid may jump so high out of the water that it lands in a nearby fishing boat!

Set as favorite

Bookmark

Email This

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry