Marine biologists in Japan have discovered how squid are able to move across the oceans so quickly.

For years, fishermen and sailors have reported seeing squid "flying" across the surface of the sea, and every now and again someone gets lucky and manages to nab a few photographs of cephalopods in action. It's only now, though, that marine biologists from Hokkaido University have discovered exactly how these squids squirt water out fast enough to propel themselves through the air at up to 11.2 metres per second -- faster than Usain Bolt's top speed of 10.31 metres per second.

Jun Yamamoto and his team had been sailing around the northwest Pacific Ocean, 600km off the coast of Japan, looking for schools of squid. They spotted about 100 20cm squid swimming just below the surface of the ocean, but as they approached around 20 of the squid launched themselves into the air, gliding around 30m in ten seconds. That the squid took flight as the researchers' boat approached has led Yamamoto to speculate that flying is a safety mechanism, to help them espace predators.


The researchers had plenty of time to photograph and study the squid, and work out exactly how they stay in the air. Yamamoto writes: "Once they finish shooting out the water, they glide by spreading out their fins and arms. The fins and the web between the arms create aerodynamic lift and keep the squid stable on its flight arc. As they land back in the water, the fins are all folded back into place to minimise the impact. We have discovered that squid do not just jump out of water but have a highly developed flying posture. This finding means that we should no longer consider squid as things that live only in the water. It is highly possible that they are also a source of food for sea birds."

It marks the first specific study of the Neon Flying Squid and its curious talent, according to Yamamoto, though a 2004 study collected substantial anecdotal evidence of flying squid. Speaking to AFP, Yamamoto said: "There were always witnesses and rumours that said squid were seen flying, but no one had clarified how they actually do it. We have proved that it really is true."

While reports of flying squid were widespread, how they pulled the trick off was unknown. Some had wondered whether the squid glided (like flying fish), but this study -- published in

Marine Biology -- found that the squid actually propel themselves with a jet of water, and that they deliberately control their fins and arms to direct themselves. Thus, describing them as "flying" is actually pretty accurate. A major downside for the squid, though, is that they have to fly backwards, so they don't know whether where they're going to land is any safer than where they're escaping from.