![]() The deep seafloor holds buried treasure: nodules of precious minerals critical to modern technologies. We typically see smaller glass squids about 30 centimeters (12 inches) long, likely because the larger ones are faster swimmers that can easily elude our slow-moving submersibles.īut the future of these fascinating midwater animals is in jeopardy. In fact, the largest of all squids-the colossal squid ( Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni ), nearly 10 meters (33 feet) long and weighing up to 495 kilograms (1,091 pounds)-belongs to the family Cranchiidae. Some are little more than 10 centimeters (four inches) long, but others are giants. More than 60 species of glass squids live in deep twilight waters around the world. A ghostly shroud of ink creates a distraction so the squid can escape. And when danger still looms, a glass squid may squirt ink into the water and jet away. Some may fill their body cavity with ink instead, presumably to blend into the darkness. When the glass squid’s cover is blown, they expand their chromatophores to darken their appearance. These organs glow at the same intensity as the dim sunlight from above to hide the squid’s silhouette from predators hunting from below. Special light organs called photophores mask the shadow of their opaque body parts, like their eyeballs. ![]() ![]() They maneuver slowly through the midwater with their fins, constantly on the lookout for danger or a delicious meal. Building a more buoyant body means the squid does not have to swim as hard to stay afloat. Glass squids have a large internal cavity they fill with ammonium, a chemical that is lighter than seawater. This invisibility cloak hides them from both predators and prey. They often keep their chromatophores closed so their skin is basically see through. ![]() Like other cephalopods, glass squids are covered in tiny pigment sacs called chromatophores. Transparency is one way to thrive in a home with few places to hide. With no protective shell and nowhere to shelter, they need to get creative. Glass squids (family Cranchiidae) live in the boundless waters of the twilight, or mesopelagic, zone. An “invisibility cloak” keeps these squids safe in the twilight zone. ![]()
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