Ten Sensational Squids: Firefly Squid (#5)
Wednesday, January 27th, 20105. Watasenia scintillans (Firefly Squid)
photo from Wikipedia Commons
Also known as the Sparkling Enope Squid, W. scintillans is a small squid (~3″ long) found only in Japanese waters, where it is fished commercially. It is known for spectacular displays of bioluminescence and has 2-4 large black photophores on the tips of certain arms, 5 on each eyeball, and a galaxy of tiny photophores covering its body. The Firefly Squid is also the only cephalopod known to have color vision, possessing three visual pigments and a double-layered retina.
The video below is a clip from a Japanese talk show, and it features three different types of glowy sea life: Firefly Squid, bioluminescent plankton, and bioluminescent comb jelly. The squid part goes by pretty fast, but you get a good look at a school of W. scintillans all lit up!
