Penny Wallace

Science/English

November 15, 2015

Brief Squid

The brief squid or Lolliguncula brevis lives in shallow waters in schools of fish. The region of this organism is common through South Carolina coastal waters. The domain of this organism is eukaryote and the kingdom is animalia. The phylum is mollusca and the class is cephalopoda. The order is myopsida and the family is loliginidae. The genus and species is Lolliguncula brevis. This organism has bilateral symmetry. Brief squids elongated body is covered in dark, pigment filled spots and has large eyes. This organism has several arm like tentacles that extend from the head. An interesting fact about this organism is that it can live up to 30 years. Another interesting fact is that the maximum size is five inches. An adaptation to this organism is how it shoots backwards with lightning speed when it wants to get away from a predator, due to its arm like tentacles. That adaptation is structural. Another adaptation is how the brief squid squirts out a black ink cloud to distract predators, while it swims away. That adaptation is structural and functional. The final adaptation is that this organism has very large eyes to spot predators and prey. That adaptation is structural. Prey to this organism are fish larvae, small fish, and bottom-dwelling crustaceans. Predators to this organism are sharks, whales, and humans. Many small fish don't mess with the Brief Squid because of its rapid defense system. This organism is a heterotroph and is ectothermic.

(works cited) I got my information from: 

"Brief Squid"

http://www.chesapeakebay.net/fieldguide/critter/brief_squid

and

http://tolweb.org/Lolliguncula_(Lolliguncula)_brevis/19893

14 November. 2015