The way 'squeaky' of squid

A new study has shown that the sperm of small squid that specialize in 'awkward eating' is bigger in size than the big 'specialized' males. In addition, the mating level with the male squid is fed by an agency other than the agency it uses to mate with the male squid, which is an organ near the mouth of the female squid, National Geographic said. .

Previous biologists have discovered that only willing to mate with big males seduce them with colorful bioluminescent light, which is not available in small male squid.

Once the female ink has seduced, the male mate by hand mating, transmitting sperm into the female's egg nozzle. The male will then watch the female until the egg spawns, to make sure no other male will fertilize the egg.

Adult squid males will develop into two types, large squid (shape) and small squid, known as awkward eating ink . The eating squid has a larger sperm size of large squid. (Photo: Eiji Fujiwara)

However, as soon as the female squid starts laying eggs at the bottom of the sea, the small male squid called the 'squid eat' has the opportunity to mate with the female squid in the first connector way. 'Female squid has a separate sperm storage organ near the mouth, dedicated to such sneaky mating with male bulls' , co-author Yoko Iwata, postdoctoral researcher at University of Tokyo, Japan, said in National Geographic magazine .

Although the larger squid has fertilized most of the eggs in the offspring, the miscarriage of small male squid also gives them a chance to "father" some of their children.

In order to find out, Dr. Iwata and his colleagues performed a series of experimental squids to collect sperm in two male inks and in two sperm sites of female squid.

The team measured the size of two sperm cells through a microscope and discovered that the sperm of the large male squid contained within the uterus had an average length of .000073 meters and sperm of small squid. (awakened squid) measuring 0,000 099 meters.

Scientists also collect eggs from living squid bodies and give artificial insemination of those eggs with two sperms and find that both sperms are fertilized well. Furthermore, these two sperms swim in eggs at the same speed, indicating that larger sperm does not have a competitive advantage over smaller sperm.

The reason that the squid-eating squid has evolved large spermatozoa is to adapt to sperm storage agencies of the squid and seawater around. Specifically, each sperm-containing organ of the squid and the waters around these organs have different characteristics such as pH, salinity, and temperament of different gases and nutrients, which are prioritize each sperm of different sizes.

These findings are the first evidence of two other males of the same species that produce sperm of different sizes and use different mating organs, BMC Evolutionary Biology quoted. researchers confirm.

This has an evolutionary benefit, Iwata added, because the two different sperms that are genetically different will help the offspring have many different gene variants, helping the squid to evolve. long face.

Currently, scientists still do not know why a squid will become a squid (small adult male ink) or a large male ink. It is not known whether the malignant male level is the result of genetic evolution or of environmental influences such as water temperature or food abundance. However, research in some squid species has shown that the environment is probably a significant factor.