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Are squids cephalopods4/17/2023 ![]() When Rosen does this, the chromatophores on that side immediately relax and shrink to tiny spots, while the chromatophores on the intact side continue to flash normally. Her research includes snipping a nerve that connects the brain to the chromatophores on one side of the squid’s body. After a few days, the chromatophores on this market squid’s left side began moving despite being disconnected from the brain’s signals ((Josh Cassidy/KQED)) But while the squid aboard most of the fishing boats in the bay will end up served as calamari, the squid Rosen catches may help explain the mystery of how these creatures control their color change. Rosen isn’t the only one fishing for squid. Squid are notoriously difficult to keep in captivity, so the first step toward studying them is to to head out into Monterey Bay to catch some specimens. Hannah Rosen, a PhD candidate at Stanford University’s Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove, is studying how exactly these animals control this dramatic light show. Day octopuses, like this one at California Academy of Sciences, can adjust their skin color, texture and body position to mimic a rock ((Josh Cassidy/KQED)) (Josh Cassidy/KQED)īecause the system is based on the action of quick responding muscles, cephalopods are able to change colors almost instantly and can produce spectacularly intricate patterns to break up their outline. Tiny muscles expand chromatophores making the colored spots grow. When the muscles relax, the colored areas shrink back into tiny spots. Minute muscles tug on the sac, spreading it wide and exposing the colored pigment to any light hitting the skin. Each tiny chromatophore is basically a sac filled with pigment. To actually control the color of their skin, cephalopods use tiny organs in their skin called chromatophores. Cuttlefish and octopuses use closely packed chromatophores to match the color of their surroundings (Josh Cassidy/KQED) Their ability to hide is critical to their survival since, with the exception of the nautiluses, these squishy and often delicious animals live without the protection of protective external shells. These animals, widely regarded as the most intelligent of the invertebrates, use their color change abilities for both concealment and communication. Octopuses, cuttlefish and squid belong to a class of animals referred to as cephalopods. Market squid skin is covered in chromatophores that expand and shrink to change the animal’s skin color or create camouflaging patterns ((Josh Cassidy/KQED)) Other creatures may posses the ability to change color, but squid and their relatives are without equal when it comes to controlling their appearance and new research may illuminate how they do it. Streaks and waves of color flicker and radiate across their skin. For an animal with such a humble name, market squid have a spectacularly hypnotic appearance.
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