Did you know this week is International Cephalopod Awareness Days? I'll assume your gifts are in the mail. Today is dedicated to squid, and you can't have total cephalopod awareness without discussing fake squid testes. This post was first published in September 2013.
The best way to stay out of trouble, if you're a shimmery, color-changing little squid, might be to paint on some pretend testes. Scientists have found that certain female squid can switch on and off a body pattern that makes them look male. They use a never-before-seen cell type to do it, and it may be all for the sake of keeping the actual testes owners far away. The opalescent inshore squid, Doryteuthis opalescens, lives in the Eastern Pacific and is one of the main species caught for food in the United States. So you'd think someone would have noticed its trick before. But the animals shift ...
