Editor's Summary

15 December 2005

Deep secrets

Marine life can still surprise. Take Gonatus onyx. This squid is abundant in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but its life history remains a mystery because spawning takes place at such great depths. 'Gonatids', like other squid, were thought to deposit their eggs on the sea floor and leave them to develop on their own but now they have been seen cradling eggs in their arms. These brooding squid may be an unwitting link between the deep and shallow marine ecosystems: their immobility makes them sitting ducks for whales and elephant seals diving in search of food.

Brief Communications: Post-spawning egg care by a squid

Spying on a brooding deep-sea squid reveals that it cradles and aerates its eggs while they mature.

Brad A. Seibel, Bruce H. Robison and Steven H. D. Haddock

doi:10.1038/438929a

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