Burying and associated behaviors of Rossia pacifica (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae)

Although sepiolid squids commonly bury in the sand during day-light hours, little is known of their burying behavior. The burying activity of Rossia pacifica was examined on substrates of different grain sizes to determine burial behavior, funnel position and behavior under threat while buried. Squid settled more quickly onto sand than larger-grained gravel and did not even settle to a pre-burying posture on cryolite. They often refused to try to bury on gravel and had a much shorter latency to bury on smallest-grained subtidal sand than on larger-grained construction sand. They buried by blowing sand from underneath with jets of water through the funnel, then throwing sand over their dorsal surface with the second pair of arms. Under threat while buried, they emitted water and ink blobs, then emerged from the substrate, inked, and jetted away. A possible angling behavior was observed while the squid were partially buried. These observations emphasize the variability within the relatively fixed sequence of burying, as well as the variable sequences used across closely related species.