Piglet Squid

This is the piglet squid Helicocranchia pfefferi.

  Filmed at Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, by Mike Schaat 

Cabrillo Marine Aquarium, Mike Schaat 

It is a small oceanic species of cephalopod which so far has only been found in the temperate North Atlantic waters. Adults measure only 10cm in length. They have small tentacles and chromatophores which can make it look like it’s smiling. It has bright eyes as a result of photophores behind each eye. They develop from planktonic larvae which are 3cm long and live in the top 300m of water as they age, they descend to depths of 100m (age-dependent changes can be described as ontogenetic shifts)/ as they mature, they lose their tentacles and change to a red hue. Due to its deep-water home, little research has been done on this species.

Classification 

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Cranchiidae
Subfamily:	Taoniinae
Genus:	Helicocranchia
Species:	H. pfefferi

References

Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Helicocranchia pfefferi". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T162906A951921. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T162906A951921.en.
Young, R.E. and Mangold, K.M. 2008. Helicocranchia Massy, 1907. Piglet squid. Version 27 October 2008.