Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's a squid

If I told you squid could fly, you would think i'm nuts. Take a look at this!

Image taken by Kouta Muramatsu of Hokkaido University on July 25, 2011 shows the oceanic squid flying in the air in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It propels itself out of the ocean by shooting a jet of water at high pressure, before opening its fins to glide at up to 11.2m per second, the university said.
A species of oceanic squid can fly more than 30 metres (100 feet) through the air at speeds faster than Usain Bolt if it wants to escape predators, Japanese researchers said Friday.

The Neon Flying Squid propels itself out of the ocean by shooting a jet of water at high pressure, before opening its fins to glide at up to 11.2 metres per second, Jun Yamamoto of Hokkaido University said.

"There were always witnesses and rumours that said squid were seen flying, but no one had clarified how they actually do it. We have proved that it really is true," Yamamoto told AFP.

"Once they finish shooting out the water, they glide by spreading out their fins and arms," Yamamoto's team said in a report.
"The fins and the web between the arms create aerodynamic lift and keep the squid stable on its flight arc.
"As they land back in the water, the fins are all folded back into place to minimise the impact."
A picture researchers snapped shows more than 20 of the creatures in full flight above the water, droplets of water from their propulsion jet clearly visible.
"We have discovered that squid do not just jump out of water but have a highly developed flying posture," the report said.
The squid are in the air for about three seconds and travel upwards of 30 metres, said Yamamoto, in what he believed was a defence strategy to escape being eaten. But, he added, being out of the ocean opened a new front, leaving the cephalopods vulnerable to other predators.

Source

reply to post by SilentE


thanks for the great info!
praise cthulhu!, man..

Oh come on, is this for real ??

Wowzers, what a wild picture !

Explanation: S&F!

AMAZING!

11.2m/s = 40 km/hr aprox ... 40.320km/hr [a more accurate aproximate] speed.

Personal Disclosure: I love to be continually astounded by the profound wonders mother nature has in store for us to observe in the wild.

Squid flies?
yes, off my plate of sushi!
This is why I love ATS, always something new and interesting to learn.
thanks!

Thanks everyone for the replys!

I can see this being used as a new excuse to debunk ufo threads.

''UFO?''
''Nah, flying squid''

This is cool but creepy at the same time.

Imagine sitting on a boat, cocktail in your hand, nice warm breeze. Then SMACK. Squid in the face.

Thank you for the education. S & F.

Wow, just came back on to check on my thread and was pleasantly surprised to see it on the newest flags board!
Thanks ATS!

well this is interesting, I wonder why they do this though

reply to post by SilentE


Cute!!

Fascinating things you learn on Ats. Here is video of The Japanese flying squid, Japanese common squid or Pacific flying squid Todarodes pacificus m.youtube.com...


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by grey9438
well this is interesting, I wonder why they do this though

According to Wired:

That the squid took flight as the researchers' boat approached has led Yamamoto to speculate that flying is a safety mechanism, to help them espace predators.

Wired have an article about this too and is a little bit more detailed. Had I known before hand I would've linked the Wired article instead of the first one but nevermind.

reply to post by SilentE


yes but they said that it would expose them to predators like birds, huge flocks of birds could catch them in the air

I'm really surprised that this is a new discovery. To me the only thing new in this discovery is that squids take on a flying posture. But I've seen squid fly a distance of maybe 5-8 meters while fishing at night. Not as exciting as 30 meters of flight. But I've observe spooked squid flying short distances. Even seen them do it in the bait tank when trying to avoid my hands.

Still very cool pictures though.

Originally posted by Trackhunter
Fascinating things you learn on Ats. Here is video of The Japanese flying squid, Japanese common squid or Pacific flying squid Todarodes pacificus m.youtube.com...

 

Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

 

Thanks for the youtube link. It's a shame they didn't get some footage of them flying but hopefully now it has been confirmed, more people will try and record them in action.

Reply to post by SilentE

Similar to small fish jumping out of water if there is any large predators around, but flying is better way escaping.


Posted Via ATS Mobile: m.abovetopsecret.com

Originally posted by grey9438
reply to post by SilentE

 

yes but they said that it would expose them to predators like birds, huge flocks of birds could catch them in the air

Yes that is true. They also said that they fly backwards so landing could go wrong from time to time. Hence the little squid that jumped in the boat. Little guy probably thought, ''wtf!?'' ''where did that boat come from!''

Originally posted by BASSPLYR
I'm really surprised that this is a new discovery. To me the only thing new in this discovery is that squids take on a flying posture. But I've seen squid fly a distance of maybe 5-8 meters while fishing at night. Not as exciting as 30 meters of flight. But I've observe spooked squid flying short distances. Even seen them do it in the bait tank when trying to avoid my hands.

Still very cool pictures though.

Thank you
People (like yourself) have seen and photographed squid flying but it's only just been confirmed how they do it.
It has now been discovered that they actually 'adjust' their fins to go in certain directions etc.
So yes, you are correct, it isn't new but the confirmation of how they fly is.

Researchers say is the first time anyone has ever described the mechanism the flying mollusc employs.

reply to post by BASSPLYR


I'm with you. It's a cool thread regardless but how is this new? I remember learning about this as a kid. Maybe it had never been documented before?

S&F for the info and the thread. I was surprised at the small size of them in the video. Somehow I pictured them as being a foot long at least. And how interesting is it that they fly backwards too. Are they the only marine species to do that?