Fishermen claim to have seen oceanic squids jump out of the water for long distances, but only recently have biologists confirmed these sightings. Jun Yamamoto of Hokkaido University led a research team that tracked a group of them jumping great distances at 10.31 meters a second--faster than Usain Bolt can run:
Yamamoto and his team were tracking a shoal of around 100 oceanic squid in the northwest Pacific 600 kilometres (370 miles) east of Tokyo, in July 2011.
As their boat approached, the 20 centimetre (8-inch) creatures launched themselves into the air with a powerful jet of water that shot out from their funnel-like stems.
"Once they finish shooting out the water, they glide by spreading out their fins and arms," Yamamoto's team said in a report.
"As they land back in the water, the fins are all folded back into place to minimise the impact."
Why don't we have funnel-like stems for propulsion purposes? We humans were robbed by evolution.
Link -via Ace of Spades HQ | Photo: AFP
NEAT!