This special dye is contained in an ink sac, but not all octopuses have an ink sac or the ability to produce ink. Different species of cephalopods also produce different colors of ink as well. Typically octopus and squid produce black ink, but ink can also be brown, reddish, or even a dark blue.
Octopus and Squid use their ink as a defense mechanism to escape from prey. When feeling threatened, they can release large amounts of ink into the water using their siphon. This ink creates a dark cloud that can obscure the predators view so the cephalopod can jet away quickly. Talk about a double whammy! Believe it or not humans have also found ways to use cephalopod ink.
As its name suggests, humans have used the ink to actually write with in the past. It can startle an oncoming predator, physically attack it, move erratically to confuse it, play dead, flee, or, in the case of the deep-sea squid Octopoteuthis deletron , sever ties with a body part.
It may seem like a dramatic antic, but the jettisoned arm likely serves as a distraction, allowing the squid to stealthily escape. When attacked or threatened the squid will grasp the predator, sever the arm at the point of contact, and often jet away after releasing a cloud of ink to mask its movement. The arm, now separate from the body and suspended in the water, will wriggle for up to half a minute, its tips conspicuously glowing in the dark from bioluminescent photophores.
The intense darkness of the deep ocean is so pervasive that the slightest light, like the light emitted from a squid arm, is intriguing enough to draw the attention of a predator. Squid are very intelligent creatures and I think it may be likely that other squid species have figured out how to use ink in this way.
The nice part about research like this is that it can be done again but with different squid species. So while we may not currently know if other species use ink to help catch prey, researchers could be testing this now! Your email address will not be published. Skip to content. Background: Fig.
The Study: Fig. The Significance: Researchers here were able to document a novel use of ink clouds, where instead of using ink to escape being eaten, they are using ink to help themselves eat. Gordon Ober. I love bad jokes and good beer. Similar Posts. Previous Not all freshwater is created equal. Next Aliens attack: Predicting the spread of marine invasive species. Aaroh and Rony The article about how squids use ink was very interesting and we really learned a lot from your article.
Hi Aaroh and Rony, Thanks for the question! Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. The wriggling, bioluminescing arms might give the predator pause enough to allow the squid to get away. Setting out to answer why many octopus squid have arms of different lengths, Bush and her team deployed a camera-equipped remotely controlled vehicle in the undersea Monterey Canyon and prodded a squid with a bottlebrush.
We think the hooks on its arms latched onto the bristles of the brush, and that was enough for the arms to just pop off. Though the squid eventually re-grow their severed arms, the strategy might seem extreme.
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