Transcript Firefly Squid

Firefly Squid
By: Haley Tapper and Alexx Thomas
The Firefly Squid
• My Scientific Name:
Watasenia Scintillans
• My Other Names: Sparkling
Enope Squid
• I am a member of the
Cephalopod family
• I am famous for the
amazing light show that
happens when millions of
my species gather to mate
of the coast of Japan
Geographical
Range
• I am found throughout the
western pacific ocean
around depths stretching
from 600-1200 feet.
• During mating season I
migrate in large numbers to
Toyama bay in Japan
Toyama Bay
Physical Traits
• I am a cephalopod about 7-8 centimeters long.
• The photophores on me are special light-producing organs found throughout my body
producing a blue body light.
• The projected light can be flashed in endless patterns, serving many functions such as
communications with mates or rivals.
• I am the only member of the squid family that has color vision. In addition, I also have a
double-layered retina in the back of my eyes.
• These adaptions for color vision helps me decode the patterns of light created from other
members of the species
• I have arms and tentacles and one series of suckers
• My mouth cavity has dark pigmentation
• Bilateral symmetry – The animal divided on one plane into two mirror-image halves
• Heterothermic – having a temperature that varies with the immediate environment
• Ectothermic- must use heat gathered from the environment and behavioral adaptions to
maintain constant body temperature
• http://www.arkive.org/firefly-squid/watasenia-scintillans/video-00.html
Diet and
Feeding
• I flash my blue lights in
patterns in which I turn on
and off to attract prey and
then pounce on them with
my tentacles.
• At night, I migrate to the
surface in search for food
then return at depths of
1,200 feet.
• Carnivores
• Consuming shrimp, crabs,
fish and planktonic
crustaceans.
Predators
• My photospheres can be used
against as a warning signal against
predators or as counter-illumination
camouflage
•
The northern fur seal is a known
predator
• Humans – I can be eaten raw or
cooked
• Sperm whales
• Sharks
• Larger fish
• Larger squid
• Crabs
Protection
• I use my
photospheres to
disguise my
shape, confusing
predators and
allowing me to
escape
Adaptation
s
• My bioluminescence is a
handy survival adaptation that
I employ in a handful of
different ways.
• I can intimidate predators with
my lights.
• I can bewilder predators with
them, making the outlines of
my body unclear and thus
buying me extra time to flee
hazardous scenes.
• I can even draw in possible
mates using my lights.
Threats
• We reproduce
rapidly
• People eat us
http://www.today.com/video/today/51468897#51468897
Reproduction
•
Breeding season runs from March
to May.
•
We gather in large numbers in
Toyama Bay in japan to lay our
eggs.
•
The adult squid die once their
fertilized eggs are released into the
water.
•
This completes our one-year
lifespan
•
Our eggs hatch in 6 to 14 days
depending on the water
temperature which can vary
between 6 to 16 degrees Celsius.
•
Sexual reproduction
Super cool facts
• During an event referred to locals as “squid drowning
themselves”, we can be washed up on the shore for an
interesting light show.
• As fishing boats haul in their catches, the surface of the sea
glows bright cobalt blue.
• I have over 800 lights on my body
• I spend the day at depths of several hundred meters & return
to the surface when night falls
• I can light up my whole body to attract a mate, matting
season usually lasts from March to June
• We are commercially fished in Japan, accounting the annual
catch in thousand tons
Work Cited Page
•
www.seasky.org/deep-sea/firefly-squid.html
•
www.animaldiversity.ummz.edu/accounts/watasenia_scintillans/
•
www.rainforestgirl.edu.glogster.com/the-firefly-squid
•
www.animals.pawnation.com/adaptations-firefly-squids-8861.html
•
http://www.arkive.org/firefly-squid/watasenia-scintillans/image-G84680.html
•
www.seavenger.info/firefly-squid/
•
www.theawesomer.com/firefly-squid-beach/161851/
•
www.commons.Wikipedia.org/wiki/shrimp
•
www.thefeaturedcreature.com/category/crustacean
•
www.en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/plankton
•
www.en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_fur_seal
•
www.tuperiodicodigital.com/img/27220122827.jpg
•
www.factslist.net/2013/01/glowing-firefly-squids-blue-blobs-of-japan/
•
www.arkive.org/firefly-squid/watasenia-scintillans/video-00.html
•
http://www.today.com/video/today/51468897#51468897
•
http://www.anotheca.com/images/Japan/l7.jpg
•
http://www.teara.govt.nz/files/p5275norf.jpg
•
http://www.philosophyblog.com.au/images/firefly-squid1.jpg