Post-spawning egg care by a squid
Abstract
Gonatus onyx is one of the most abundant cephalopods in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and is an important prey species for a variety of vertebrate predators, but a full understanding of its life history has been hampered because spawning occurs at great depths, where observation is difficult. Here we describe post-spawning egg care, or brooding, in this deep-sea squid. Our finding is unexpected because this behaviour differs from the reproductive habits of all other known squid species.
- Publication:
-
Nature
- Pub Date:
- December 2005
- DOI:
- 10.1038/438929a
- Bibcode:
- 2005Natur.438..929S