Bobtail squid

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(Redirected from Sepiolida)

iBobtail squid

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Sepiolida Fioroni, 1981

Families

Idiosepiidae
Sepiolidae

Bobtail squid are a group of cephalopods closely related to cuttlefish. Bobtail squid tend to have a rounder mantle than cuttlefish and have no cuttlebone. They have eight suckered arms and two tentacles and generally quite small. They live in shallow coastal waters of the Pacific and a small part of the Indian oceans. Like cuttlefish they can swim by either using the fins on their mantle or by jet propulsion. They are also known as Dumpling squid (owing to their rounded mantle) or Stubby squid.

[edit] Light Organ

Bobtail squid have a symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria (Vibrio fischeri), which inhabit a special light organ in the squid's mantle. The bacteria are fed a sugar and amino acid solution by the squid and in return hide the squid's silhouette when viewed from below by matching the amount of light hitting the top of the mantle.