Editor's note:
The wild boar is coming down the mountain! "Monkey Paper" has arrived on my balcony! News of wild animals entering the city frequently appear on social media. In fact, we have so much native wildlife living all around us that we know so little about them. Only by understanding, being friendly and being together can all things be able to live in harmony and be nourished by each other. Xinhua Daily·Junction Point has joined forces with the Jiangsu Provincial Wildlife Conservation Station, Jiangsu Provincial Academy of Forestry Sciences, Nanjing Fisheries Science Research Institute, Nanjing Hongshan Forest Zoo , etc. to launch the "Eyes of the Secret · Friends of Humanity" calendar column, which will take you to pay attention to the familiar and mysterious "animal neighbors" through the perspectives of infrared cameras , animal observers, etc. Biodiversity is the basis of survival and vitality of the human homeland. Every solar term day, we will also invite solar terms officials to make special promotion broadcasts on that day. Let’s get to know the golden squid today.
The foot is above the head
The golden squid, also known as cuttlefish, mullet, is a molluskphylum CephalopodaSepia animal, distributed in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, South China Sea, Japanese Islands and Philippine Islands waters. The annual output of golden squid ranks second among the world's squid species. Together with the large yellow croaker, small yellow croaker, and hairtail, it is known as my country's four traditional seafood.
The body structure of the golden squid is very peculiar, divided into three parts: head, feet and trunk. The head of the golden squid is spherical, with a mouth at the top, an oral membrane surrounding it, and a pair of eyes with complex structure and well-developed functions on both sides of the head. There is an oval-shaped pit at the back and lower part of the eye, called the olfactory pit, which is equivalent to the nose and is a type of chemical receptor . The feet of the golden squid are born on the top of the head. Among the 10 feet on the top of the head, 8 are shorter and have dense suckers on the inside, which are called wrists. There are also 2 longer feet that can move relatively freely and can be retracted into two capsules, called tentacles. The tentacles only have suckers on the inside of the front end. The trunk of the golden squid is bag-shaped, equivalent to a visceral mass, with a muscular mantle on the outside and a calcareous inner shell inside.
What are the habits of golden squid?
The golden squid inhabits deep waters of the ocean, and its flat, soft body is very suitable for life on the seabed. squid usually move slowly in a wave-like manner. When in danger, they will quickly escape at a speed of 15 meters per second (54 kilometers/hour). There is a ink sac in their body, which contains thick black ink. When encountering an enemy, the golden squid quickly sprays out ink, turning the surrounding seawater black to cover its escape. Every spring, golden squid swim from the deep sea to shallow inner bays to lay eggs. From April to June, they adhere their eggs to seaweed and other objects. Starting in late September, the larval golden squid that hatched that year return to the south to overwinter.
The meat is delicious, and the ink is also useful
The golden squid is full of treasures. Their meat is crispy and refreshing, rich in protein , and is a good nourishing product. Their inner shells are also called "squid plates", " cuttlefish bones", and " sea octopuses". They are commonly used medicinal materials in traditional Chinese medicine and have the functions of relieving pain, stopping bleeding, and strengthening bones. Their ink can be used in industrial production, and the ink sac is also a medicinal material. Their guts can be used to extract gut oil, which is a good raw material for tanning. Their eyes can be made into eyeball glue, which is an excellent glue.
Written by Jin Yiwei
Drawing by Zhu Danqing
Pictures by Visual China
