The Law of Beak And Claw

THE LAW OF BEAK AND CLAW These remarkable images reveal a struggle for survival never before seen by human observers. Deep in the dark waters of Monterey Bay, owlfish and black-eyed squid carry out their lives. Owlfish are predators that feed on small crustaceans and jellies. They have enormous eyes to help them find their food in the dim light at great depths, and tiny mouths through which they suck up their prey. Typically, the fish drift slowly through the darkness, waiting for a dim shadow or a flash of bioluminescence to reveal their victim. In contrast, the squid are active predators, searching through the water column for fish or shrimps to capture. When a squid finds a target, it shoots out its two, long feeding tentacles, each tipped with suckers and claw-like hooks to snag the prey. Then it reels in the fish and grabs it with its eight arms, using its sharp beak to sever the fish’s spinal cord and render it helpless – at least that’s the plan. The fish has a few tricks up its sleeve as well. They have a very quick escape response and with a flick of their tails they can dart out of the reach of a striking squid. They also wear a suit of large, shaggy scales that they can easily shed. When a squid’s tentacles hit its body, the fish shrugs off 2 or 3 big scales at the point of contact and speeds off into the darkness – leaving the squid with an inedible souvenir of the meal it missed. The scales grow back. But if the squid is quick enough and its aim is true, it has a chance to kill and eat the fish, but first it must be subdued. In this case the squid has captured an owlfish and is struggling to carve its beak through the muscles surrounding the fish’s backbone. Slowly and inexorably the squid rotates the fish within its grasp; cutting deeper until finally, the fish is subdued and eaten. this is Bruce Robison from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.