Henk-Jan Hoving, a Ph.D. student at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands and leader of the study, discovered that males of the bioluminescent species Taningia danae use their sharp claws and beak to slice two-inch-deep (five-centimetre-deep) wounds into their partners, into which they insert sperm packets or spermatophores via a penis-like appendage.
Males of the species Moroteuthis ingens on the other hand, had sperm packets that burrowed into the females' bodies once they were deposited there. Hoving said, “The spermatophores penetrate the skin independently. They probably do that with the help of an enzyme-like substance that dissolves tissue."
Researchers also stumbled across the first-known transgender squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii. “One possible explanation is that the males impersonate females to sneak undetected among potential mates," Hoving said. “Alternatively, it may be that waterborne residues from human contraceptive pills or other ‘gender-bending' pollutants known to be affecting fish and amphibians are also harming the squid." Previous studies have suggested “contaminating chemicals are slowly getting into the deep-sea food web."
Yet another startling discovery was the fact that some squid species can internally fertilise their eggs. It was believed that females released their eggs into the water to be fertilised by the males' sperms. However, females of the mini-squid Heteroteuthis dispar have an internal sperm storage sac that connects to the oviducts, the tubes through which eggs pass.
February 2009
