European squid

The European squid is a clever, speedy swimmer that lives in the seas around Europe. It has a long, slender body, ten limbs, and a pair of big, watchful eyes. Eight of its limbs are short arms, and two are longer tentacles it shoots out to grab a meal. Whooshing quietly through the water, it is one of the ocean’s most graceful little hunters.

Squid move in a very special way called jet propulsion. The squid draws water into its body, then squeezes it out through a narrow funnel. Out shoots the water, and away zooms the squid — usually backwards! By pointing its funnel this way and that, it can dart, turn, and stop, steering itself like a tiny rocket made of muscle.

One of the most amazing things about the European squid is that it can change colour in the blink of an eye. Its skin is packed with thousands of tiny colour bags called chromatophores. By stretching or squeezing these bags, the squid turns pale and see-through one moment, then flushes reddish or grey the next. It is a bit like having magic, colour-changing pyjamas.

The European squid is a carnivore, which means it eats other animals. It hunts small fish and shrimp-like creatures, catching them with its two long tentacles and pulling them in close. Squid live busy, fast lives and do not grow very old. Most only live for about two or three years, so every day is packed with swimming, hunting, and exploring the wide blue sea.

You can find European squid all around the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the warm Mediterranean Sea, from near the surface down to about 500 metres deep. They have not been given an official conservation rating on the IUCN Red List, but they are common and widespread, jetting happily through the water in huge, glittering groups.