Squid fly through the air by jet propulsion. Faster than swimming and more energy efficient.
Squid can save energy by flying through the air rather than swimming, according to calculations based on high-speed photography.
Squid of many species have been seen to fly using the same jet-propulsion mechanisms that they use to swim: squirting water out of their mantles so that they rocket out of the sea and glide through the air.
Julia Stewart, a marine biologist at Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, tracked Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) and found that they travelled faster than anyone had seen before.
By studying photographs taken by amateur photographer, Bob Hulse in 2009 off the coast of Brazil, researchers were able to estimate the squid’s velocity and acceleration, and compare them with these values for squid in water.
They found that the velocity in air while the squid were propelling themselves with the water jet was five times faster than than any measurements made for comparable squid species in water.
Less energy is used to fly through the air. Scientists studying the migratory patterns of squid had long wondered how they consumed enough food to travel as far as they do.
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