Beneath the Californian waves lurk a grisly gauntlet , police by tentacled piranha with a rapacious appetency that will eat anything they can grasp hold of – include each other . Though squid cannibalism has been surmise for some clock time , until now it had never been observed in the wild .
Squid remains had antecedently been found in the stomachs of other extremity of their variety , while others had been seeneating each otherwhen trap in fishermen ’s nets , although marine biologists believe this may be an affected behavior driven by the terror of being ensnare . However , reporting their find in the journalDeep Sea Research Part I : Oceanographic Research Papers , the study authors discover how they used remotely maneuver vehicles to spy on squids living in the Monterey Submarine Canyon , finally catch the deep - sea enigmas in the deed .
More than 100 individuals belonging to the genusGonatuswere note , with many of these seen engaging in cannibalism . In particular , the speciesGonatus onyxappeared to have developed a penchant for its own brethren , with 42 percent of its quarry made up of squid . Another metal money , Gonatus berryi , was also view engage in cannibalism , though to a slenderly less extent .
The researchers believe the master reason for this is probably related to the energy demands of thesesquids . The species observe have one of the highest metabolic rates of allcephalopods , and because femalesspawnonly once in their lifespan , they have to invest a eminent amount of energy into their egg mass .
Gonatus onyx squid eat another calamari of the same mintage . 2010 MBARI
As such , they are thought to feed on other squid , in addition to angle , as this enable them to build up a large depot of nutrients . This come in particularly handy during their nine - month brooding period shortly after spawning , when they do not track down at all and have to swear on their existing energy reserves .
observe the creature ’ behavior , the study authors name them as “ various , opportunist predators , ” willing to eat anything they can , and using their hook - lined tentacles to catch hold of their prey as they devour it .
