Giant Squid Adaptations

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Recommended: Deep sea creatures adapt to the environment

You're more than likely familiar with several types of exotic animals. Maybe you've seen some strange creatures on your zoo visits, or maybe even on TV. No matter how peculiar some animals may appear, many have vital adaptations that help them survive in their environment. In fact, many deep-sea creatures use these vital adaptations. Among these adaptations are the acids produced by zombie worms to drill nutrients out of whale bones, the ink used by squid to protect from predators, and the tiny hairs on the claws of yeti crabs used to obtain nourishment. You most likely think that worms are incapable of ingesting harsh materials, such as whale bone. To the surprise of many, zombie worms live at the bottom of the sea, living …show more content…

The Giant Squid (Architeuthis sux) is notorious for its eight arms, feeding tentacles, and large eyes. The giant squid possesses many important adaptations, one being its statoliths, which are mineralized organs that serve to help the squid balance. Statoliths also show growth rings, which help show the age and life span of a squid. Another adaptation of the giant squid is its ability to squirt ink from its funnel; this helps the squid defend itself from predators, such as the sperm whale. Yeti crabs, much like the squid and zombie worms, live in the deep-sea, about 7,200 feet below the surface. Yeti crabs live in large packs, with up to 600 crabs per 11 square feet! Much like both the adaptations of the squid and zombie worms, the Yeti crab’s adaptations are proposed to serve nutritional purposes. Scientists have conjectured that the hairy Yeti crabs have bacteria that thrive on the crab’s hairs and that these bacteria are what nourishes them. Perhaps the next time you make a trip to the aquarium, you will recall the adaptations of some deep-sea creatures. Maybe you will even begin to pick up on the adaptations of animals that you wouldn’t have noticed before! After all, the acid-producing ways of the zombie worm, the ink-projection of the squid, and the bacteria consumption of the yeti crab are

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