The European Squid Of Crete (Loligo Vulgaris)
This months article series will be about..
The Greek Island Of Crete! Crete is approximately 52.33 Nautical/Marine miles from mainland Greece. It is also approximately 96.98 miles from mainland Turkey. The island of Crete is owned by Greece as of 2023. Crete is in the Mediterranean sea & is surrounded by many other greek islands. Crete is also one of the islands with the most land & marine biodiversity. It is incredibly appealing to animals as it has many marine resources. These areas are also It is a very interesting place to see different types of marine life. Namely because many different types of octopi & squid are found here. They are also found in high density here. The European squid is one of these species. It can frequently be found off the coast doing various things. The European squid is not invasive in any form to this area. As far as we know there are no species that are genetically close enough to it to be in a species complex. There used to be a subspecies under it known as Loligo reynaudii. However, This classification has since been revoked. It is native to the Mediterranean sea, the Irish sea, the northwest coast of Africa, & the island of Great Britain. In this article we will discuss the life of the European squid, the mating procedures, tactics, practices, & cycles of the European squid, the distribution of European squid, & the scientific detailings of the European squid.
The Life Of The Europeans Squid
It is unfortunately unknown when this species was discovered. It is also unknown as to who discovered it & how they discovered it. This squid can grow up to 75 centimeters (29.5276 inches). However some sources claim that they may only grow up to 50 centimeters (19.685 inches). At their smallest they are usually 10 centimeters (3.93701 inches). The females live on average 1.5 to 2 years. The males however, live approximately 3 years on about. They weigh on average 3.3 pounds (1.49685 kilograms) regardless of gender. As a species, they do not seem to exhibit any more intelligence then an average squid species. Squids as a whole are incredibly intelligent. They demonstrate problem solving skills. They also occasionally use their tentacles to pull themselves into small crevices. Much like octopi in a way. Unfortunately, it is extremely hard to tell when this exact species started existing. It is also hard to tell when squid started existing as they rarely fossilize or leave evidence that will confirm their existence in a certain time period. However, the earliest evidence that we have of them is during the Late Cambrian period. This would have been approximately 490 million years ago. This species ranks as Data Deficient on the IUCN red list. Meaning that this species has not yet been assessed by the IUCN red list. Their diet usually consists of small fish, crustaceans, & other squids. They are occasionally cannibalistic. They feed by using 2 tentacles to grab onto the food & put it into its beak. Their eating capacity is not known. Their hunting cycles are also unknown however it is presumed that they hunt at nighttime. Its beak is centred on the bottom of the squid in the center of the tentacles. This beak is usually used to snap the spinal cord of prey. They seem to lead a rather solitary life & seem to not really care for each other. They are not territorial & seem to roam about the ocean their entire lives. However, this is not true for larger squid species. They are not very aggressive towards humans as long as they are not provoked. Thankfully since they are so small in size, they cannot cause much damage towards humans or vessels. They are however, occasionally aggressive towards each other. They are invertebrates & don’t have bones at all. They may fit through holes that are less then 1 quarter of their size. The Loligo Vulgaris has a long, slender & cylindrical body. Rhomboid fins comprise two thirds of the mantle length. Though locomotion is via jet propulsion. The posterior border is slightly concave. The head is relatively small in proportion to the rest of the body & has large eyes which are covered with a transparent membrane. It is usually a yellowish amber colour or a salmon colour.
The Mating Practices, Tactics, Cycles, & Procedures Of Ths European Squid
Squids mate in rather strange ways due to the placement of certain parts of their genitalia. Squids mate via sexual reproduction. They are not monogamous & will not mate for life. They are not hermaphroditic & cannot change genders. Both genders reach sexual maturity at approximately 1 year after hatching. However, they will often only get the chance mate once in their life due to how short their lifespans are. If they survive for longer they will mate more throughout their life. They will usually mate towards the end of their lives. The males will court the females by changing the colour of their skin. The females are most fertile at 9-12 months old. They will change their skin to flashy colours. After initiation, the males will eject his sperm into the females oviduct. The males will use a penis or tube in order to transfer these sperm packets into the female. These packets will then break open. After this the male will swim off & not be seen again. The gestation period for the females is unknown. After this the females will eventually lay the eggs. She will eject these eggs through an orifice in her body (not her beak) onto the ocean floor. She will then swim away. She will not take care of them at all, however this is not the case for all squids. The female will have approximately 3,000 eggs. However they will not all hatch. After the European squid hatches, it will fend for itself. There unfortunately is no percentage of egg survival to adult rate. Soon after she releases eggs, she will die. They also do not appear to have any specific month.
The Distribution Of The European Squid
The European squid is found all throughout Europe. They are found in the highest density throughout the Mediterranean ocean. They are also found on the western coast of Africa, however they are found scarcely on the southwestern side of Africa. Occasionally, they can also be found just north of great Britain. They prefer colder, muddier environments & usually enjoy depths of 135 meters (442.913 feet).They also prefer sandier & barren environments. They are often not found near the sea floor & prefer to stay in the middle of the ocean. However they may be found as deep as 500 meters (1640.42 feet) & as high as 20 meters (65.6168 feet). They are often found much deeper during the winter months. They often will migrate towards Portugal in the winter & towards the south & north of France.
The images above depict the known areas of where the species of Loligo Vulgaris is found. They also choose the most secluded areas, most likely to avoid interacting with vessels or other squid. The northern population of this species is also slightly different appearing then the southern population, however they are still the same species. This is also not to be confused with the species that roams in the same area known as Loligo Reynaudii or Loligo Vulgaris Reynaudii.
The Scientific Detailings Of The European Squid
The European squid is a strange creature due to the fact it can fit almost anywhere. Like many cephalopods, this creature manages to fit through holes less then a quarter of its size. They is partially due to the fact that they lack any hard matter such as bones, this excluded their parrot-like beak. However, there is another component to this. They can suck in water & blow out water. When they blow out water, they deflate & may fit wherever they so please. If their beak fits in an area, then the squid does as well. The same goes for octopi. As for their anatomy, here is a diagram as to how its organs are placed.
The images above depict the anatomy of a squid. In this image it may look as if they have 2 hearts, however they have 3. They have 1 systemic heart which is in the middle of mantle. The other 2 are branchial or gill hearts which pump blood to the gills. What happens at the gills is that oxygen is taken up & the blood that was sent by the gill hearts is sent to the systemic heart. After this point the blood is pumped all throughout the body. Strangely enough, a squids blood is completely blue. The reason for this is due to the fact that they have a copper compound known as hemocyanin in their blood. This is similar to humans having hemoglobin in their blood which makes it red. Squids famously produce ink, their ink sack is located underneath the systemic heart which is the center of the mantle. They use this ink as a defensive mechanism to escape from potential threats. As the squid spews the ink cloud it can safely jet away. They release their ink from their siphon, which is located underneath the mantle & on the creatures back. Chemically speaking the ink usually includes melanin, enzymes related to melanin production, catecholamines, peptidoglycans, free amino acids & various metals. Also, due to the way that their nervous system is built they can feel pain. While squids do have small brains, they do not have a central nervous system. They do not have a centralized brain that controls the body as humans do. Their neurons are in various clusters around their body. These clusters are known as ganglia. These clusters will control various parts of the body. They also have very are very strange when it comes neuroscience. This is best said by Jade Zee, A professor at northeastern university. She says & we quote “We humans have white matter, which causes electrical signals to travel much, much faster in our neurons. Invertebrates don’t have that. So the invertebrate solution, if you want electrical signals travel faster, is to have a wider diameter axon of a neuron. The very first action potentials were recorded in what’s called the squid giant axon. It’s about a millimeter in diameter, which I know still sounds small, but that’s actually really, really big compared to other nerves.”. Their phylum is known as Mollusca. Mollusca is the 2nd largest phylum, just behind Arthopoda. Mollusca is however the largest marine phylum as it comprises approximately 23% of all documented marine species. The three most commonly found features defining modern species categorized under molluscs are the following: a mantle with a significant cavity used for breathing & excretion, the presence of a radula, and the structure of the nervous system. Their class is Cephalopoda. This class includes almost all species of cuttlefish, octopi, squid, & nautilus. Their order is Myopsida. This is an order of squids. A few universal traits of all squid categorized under Myopsida is that they lack a secondary eyelid, & are instead covered by a transparent corneal membrane. Their family is Loliginidae. This is a family of pencil squid. A common trait of species categorized in this family is that they are long & incredibly thin. Their genus is Loligo. This is a genus of squid. There are only 3 species categorized under Loligo. This is also one of the most widely distributed genera of Myopsid squid. Their binomial name is known as Loligo Vulgaris.
Directories / Credits
Strategic Partnerships
Reel Guppy Outdoors
Our Loyal Patrons
Ms. Ochoa
Comments