Back in July 1990, Steven Munatones did a two-way crossing of the Tsugaru Channel between the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido in Japan, almost done entirely at night with squid fishermen as his escort boat pilots. “When the captain shown the light on the water surface, I saw so many squid. Squid everywhere, all underneath me by the thousands. It was quite a sight.”

But he did not see any of the squid that swim fast and pop out from the ocean surface. When these squid fly over the waves (shown on left), they balance their fins like wings in order to accelerate through the air. Professor Jun Yamamoto of Hokkaido noted that the squid not only have a tremendous flying ability, but it also raises the possibility that the squid can become prey to seabirds in the air.

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