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| cephalopods text index | photo index |
| Phylum Mollusca > Class Cephalopoda > squids and cuttlefishes |
| Pygmy
squid Idiosepius sp. Family Idiosepiidae updated Oct 12 Where seen? This tiny squid is commonly seen on many of our shores, among seagrasses and near reefs and rubble. Often dismissed as bits of floating rubbish, this small, well camouflaged animal is usually seen hunting alone. Features: About 1cm. Body long cylindrical, with tiny circular fins at the rear end. It is often seen floating about with its longer tentacles extended beyond the shorter arms, with a slight curl at the tips of the tentacles. It has been seen catching shrimps that are as big as the squid. The Family Idiosepiidae comprises only one genus Idiosepius that have a special glue gland on the upper body. A pygmy squid may use this gland to glue itself to the underside of seagrasses and seaweeds where it lurks in wait for prey. Like other squids, it can change colours rapidly, check out Andy's awesome video clip. Sometimes mistaken for a juvenile squid, this squid doesn't get very large. What does it eat? Tiny shrimps and crabs are its main prey. It is said that that to catch shrimps, it sneaks up on a shrimp and immobilises the prey by biting through the nerve cord. |
 Caught a shrimp. Tanah Merah, Aug 11  Tiny circular fins at the end of the body. |
 Can change colours rapidly. Changi, Aug 11 |
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 Longer tentacles extended beyond the shorter arms. Cyrene Reef, Jul 10 |
 Longer tentacles extended beyond the shorter arms. Pulau Hantu, Aug 03 |
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Pygmy
squids on Singapore shores
| Photos for free download from wildsingapore flickr |
| Family
Idiosepiidae recorded for Singapore from Tan Siong Kiat and Henrietta P. M. Woo, 2010 Preliminary Checklist of The Molluscs of Singapore.
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Links
References
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ConchBooks, Germany. 319 pp|
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