A new study published on March 30 in the journal Scientific Reports has found that jelly-like orbs found in the western coast of Norway several years ago are the egg sacs of the Illex coindetii. According to the researchers, nearly 100 sightings of the jelly-like orbs, which are more than 3 feet wide, have been reported around Norway and the Mediterranean Sea since 1985. The translucent blobs also contain a dark streak in the center of the orbs.
The study concluded that each jelly-like blob may contain hundreds of thousands of squid eggs covered by a bubble of disintegrating mucus. The researchers came to this conclusion after studying the tissue samples of four blobs collected by divers in small plastic bottles in 2019. A DNA analysis of the tissues revealed that the blobs contained lllex coindetii squids.
"We also got to see what's inside the actual sphere, showing squid embryos at four different stages," lead study author Halldis Ringvold, manager of the marine zoology organization Sea Snack Norway, told Live Science. "In addition, we could follow how the sphere actually changes consistency — from firm and transparent to rupturing and opaque — as the embryos develop."
During reproduction, the female squids produce large egg masses consisting of their own mucus to safeguard their embryos from predators, the researchers noted.
However, the researchers cannot conclusively say that nearly all the 100 blobs observed in recent years belong to the same species without sampling tissues from each one. However, since many of the blobs were similar in shape and size to the ones that were tested, it’s likely that many of the blobs were made by lllex coindetii.
The researchers also noted that the dark streak cutting through many of the blobs may be ink that was released when the eggs were fertilized or some sort of camouflage mechanism.
"Spheres with or without ink may be a result of spheres being at different maturity stages, where spheres with ink are freshly spawned," the researchers wrote. “After a while, when embryos start developing, the whole sphere, including the streak, will start to disintegrate."
