"In the last 10 years we've really come a very long way in understanding the behavior of a lot of these animals. Roper, curator of mollusks and a squid expert at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution, said in an interview. Currently, a scientific expedition off the California coast is trying to track one of the giants down, churning through dark waters with an unmanned robot, seeking to film the behemoth in its lair. Still, scientists have yet to snare the creature, while fishermen sometimes do so by accident. Squirts of ink, it turns out, can do much more than blind a pursuer.Įven the giant squid, the largest and most legendary of the race, reaching lengths of 70 feet, is being tracked more closely than in the past. In some cases scientists are learning whole sequences of maneuvers meant to escape predators. But it turns out that some species take breaks on the bottom, resting their arms in such a way ("on their elbows," an expert jokes) so tubes for breathing and propulsion stay clear of obstructing mud. Traditionally, squids have been thought of as creatures of the ocean's middle levels, always jetting about or floating in a state of neutral buoyancy. Some species then flash a light at the tentacle's end to attract prey, grabbing hold of the next meal with the tentacle's suckers. A squid's arm will hold a thin tentacle, letting it run over the arm's tip and dangle far below its body. Long tentacles, once seen mostly as grippers, also turn out to work as fishing lines and lures. Most boast a range of bioluminescence and subtle coloration that can change quickly, often to elude predators and perhaps to attract mates as well. Previously seen as primitive and lethargic, deep-sea squids turn out to show surprising alertness and alacrity. Little by little, tribal secrets from the earliest days of squid existence are being surrendered for the first time. SQUIDS, some of the smartest and most elusive of the sea's creatures, are beginning to give up their behavioral secrets as submarines and robots observe their unique ways of hunting, hiding and just hanging out in deep, cold waters where darkness reigns or only dim rays of sunlight can penetrate.
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