An Idiosepius hallami “glues” itself to a blade of sea grass. Image credit: Mandy Reid
Idiosepius sp. have a special glue gland on the upper body that the squid may use to glue itself to the underside of seagrasses and seaweeds while they rest or hunt. Without this natural adhesive, these tiny squids would be swept away by the gentlest of currents.
Pygmy squids are predators that hunt small crustaceans such as mysids and ampiphods. For a squid this small, a single amphipod is already a huge meal.
As with other squids, I. hallami are loaded with chromatophores that allow them to change colors.
The new squid is described in the journal Zootaxa.
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