When winds blew stronger and seas became stormy out in the Indian Ocean, we often found tiny Indian Squid on the deck.
It’s amazing to think that thousands of kilometres from land, in the deep waters of the ocean, it’s possible to find these tiny creatures surviving.
Those squid we found were about 10cm in length, but a fully grown male can measure up to 40cm.
About Flying Fish
Scientific Name
Habitat
Size
Weight
Diet
Predators
Uroteuthis duvaucelii
Indian Ocean, Malaysia, South China Sea, Red Sea
Male up to 40cm and female up to 23.5cm
1.5kg when fully grown
fish, shellfish, squid
fish, sharks, seals, sea birds, whales and dolphins
When baby squid hatch, they are smaller than a pinhead. They are called zooplankton.
When squid are small they live near the surface. As squid grow, they start to live closer to the seabed. This is called being ‘benthos’.
Eggs are laid in a big clump called an egg mop.
It looks like the bottom part of a mop with all its rope strands that are used to wash the floor. There are 100-300 eggs in each of the egg mop strands.
The squid is called a cephalopod. Cephalopod is a Greek word. It means ‘head foot’.
FUN FACTS
Squid have 3 hearts
The largest squid can weigh as much as 453,592 kilograms.
Some species of squid glow in the dark because they have bioluminescent organs.
Find out more Facts:
Squid: https://squid-world.com/facts-about-squids/
Giant Squid:
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/giant-squid
