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Text: Vientiane hardcore
Edited by Vientiane hardcore
«——【Preamble】】 ——»
In December 2010, China News Network reported on a flying squid that was said to be able to "fly" using the principle of "jet propulsion"!
What's even more exaggerated is that this squid, which is only about 10 centimeters long, can jump out of the water to a staggering height of 21 meters, and at first it was mistaken for some kind of flying fish.
It wasn't until British photographer Graham Ekins photographed it in Japan's southern waters that people realized it was a squid flying in the waters.
The squid is a mollusk, and it is much more difficult to take off than birds or even flying fish, and it is even more incredible to be able to fly to a height of 21 meters.
So why do flying squids take off from the sea? Is it for fun?
As a mollusk, how does the flying squid fly to a height of 21 meters?
«—[Mollusks that can take off]—»
The "flying squid" has a scientific name called the Pacific fold squid (Todarodes pacificus), also known as the Pacific fold squid, which belongs to the family of soft fishes and can barely grow to about 20 centimeters in adulthood.
This squid generally lives in the southern waters of Japan, about 1 kilometer away from the scattered archipelago.
They often move together in groups, swimming in shallow depths, and sometimes jumping up from the water to "fly".
As for why the Pacific squid developed the skill of flying, many netizens couldn't help but complain, it is estimated that Japan has polluted the sea water too badly, so the squid has to force itself to "take off" if it wants to survive.
It is true that Japan does not seem to care about the quality of the marine ecological environment, not only discharging all kinds of domestic wastewater into the sea, but also wantonly hunting and killing all kinds of creatures in the sea, which once made many countries in the international community deeply hate.
But the fact that the Pacific squid can fly seems to have little to do with Japan's pollution of the ocean, because the squid's flying skills are so proficient that it doesn't seem to be meant to be sold.
Moreover, according to the analysis of relevant scholars, the reason why the Pacific squid can fly is to avoid the pursuit of natural enemies in the water.
It is said that when people's boats pass by, a special vortex will appear behind them, and the Pacific squid will think that some kind of predator is threatening its survival underwater, so it will jump to avoid the so-called "natural predators".
And because they often move in groups, they often jump out of the water together, and sometimes even see more than 20 Pacific squid jumping out of the water.
So why does the Pacific squid, as a mollusk, fly? Could it be that its "legs" can be used as "wings"?
«—[Squid taking off backwards]—»
Traditionally, take-offs have relied on aerodynamics and can fly for long periods of time, but the Pacific Squid relies on jet principles for take-off and can only stay in the air for a short period of time.
So theoretically, the Pacific squid is actually "bouncing" itself out of the water, and the direction in which they bounce is also jumping backwards.
In other words, when the Pacific Fold Squid takes off, the fin side is in front of it, its "claws" are actually located behind the leaping direction, and its fins can help it maintain a balanced and stretched posture in the air, which can be said to be similar to the role of wings.
The tentacles on the front half are spread out into the shape of a fan by the Pacific squid, which is said to be easy to glide.
Of course, there is also one researcher, Otto, who believes that squid can also control its body by making small movement adjustments while flying in the air, similar to how they swim in the ocean.
In this way, it seems that the Pacific squid has a lot of strength, after all, it is not easy to catapult itself to a height of 21 meters.
It is true that squid can fly, but in fact, the practice of taking off does not completely help the Pacific squid avoid all natural predators, such as the "red-footed boobies", which are very interested in the Pacific squid that takes off.
The bird will even wait in one of the spots where Pacific squid are frequented, and if they are seen leaping out of the water, red-footed boobies will quickly fly over and grab them.
escaped the natural predators under the sea but eventually died in the belly of the bird, I have to say that the luck of the Pacific squid is really laughable.
However, some experts claim that it is uncertain whether all squid are capable of flying, because anything is possible because the creature is not only strong but also intelligent.
So how strong is the survivability of squid?
«—[Clever Squid]—»
First of all, squid generally have very flexible antennae, not only to judge whether the surrounding environment is suitable for survival, but also to use it to find prey.
And when in danger, the squid will also release pitch-black ink to confuse the predator's sight, so as to protect itself.
As one of the mollusks, octopuses can also change their body shape according to their will, and they can flatten and shrink their bodies to the maximum extent possible in order to escape from more crowded places.
In addition, the squid has a good learning ability, and its IQ is among the top few among invertebrates, not only being able to easily open the cap, but also to imitate the behavior of other animals through observation.
It can even engage in effective social activities, such as cooperating with peers to accomplish something, and participating in competitive activities.
This is due to the squid's central and distributed brains, which are home to hundreds of millions of neurons, which the researchers hypothesize is what allows the squid to creatively solve a variety of problems.
In addition, the squid's movement is also special, it will contract the cartilage-like squid muscles when it advances, and its body will bend backwards, which will generate different pressure on the inside than on the outside, and then the squid will relax the "muscles" again to get propulsion.
This is the same principle used by the Pacific squid when it takes off, so many scientists believe that other species of squid are likely to "fly" as well.
The ability to go to the sea is indeed surrounded by the squid clan, so their number seems to be relatively stable at present, of course, this also means that the squid is a very ferocious "killer", after all, it is really capable of continuing the race if it can fill its stomach.
Squid recipes also seem to be more extensive, such as the most common small fish and shellfish, as well as various plankton, and of course, crab is also one of the rare delicacies.
In addition, some small sea creatures such as jellyfish and fleas are also eaten by squid, and it seems that this guy is also a complete foodie, no matter what the difficulty is.
Due to its relatively intelligent brain, squid hunting also shows a certain degree of strategy, and its tentacles have suction cups with strong suction power, which can firmly grasp the prey.
In addition, these suction cups also have sharp teeth, so once the prey is caught, it is difficult to escape no matter how much you struggle.
Once you've controlled your prey, of course, you'll have to feast on it. The squid's beak is so powerful that it can tear its prey into small pieces and then feast on it.
Therefore, for squid, it is easy to swallow prey that is larger than its own size.
In addition, many squid will use their tentacles to peel off the scales of the fish after they have preyed on the fish.
The scales of the fish are relatively hard, so they are not friendly to squid, and only by slowly peeling off its armor can it eat the meat inside. So the squid still looks quite exquisite.
Such a wide range of recipes also gives squid a chance to preserve its race, after all, it's not a good thing to be too picky eater.
Of course, people have long found that squid tastes good, so it has also been served on people's tables and has become an extremely popular seafood.
Due to its strong survivability, squid has also become one of the important species that can be cultivated in the development of aquaculture, and the quality and quantity can be well controlled, and the requirements for the environment are not too high.
Squid is delicious and refreshing, suitable for a variety of cooking methods, and its meat quality is relatively elastic, and the nutritional value is also very high, which is a relatively healthy food.
Reference:
China News Network "Flying Squid Found in Japanese Waters Can Jump 21 Meters Out of the Water" 2010-12-20