Rainbow squid

The **rainbow squid** (*Arcusiteuthis rex*) is a a species of enormous, rorqual whale-sized squid that originally did not exist, but has since been created by SciiFii and introduced to the modern Pacific Ocean to help boost biodiversity. Sometimes, several flocks of ocean flish will gather above one whirling fish and silverswimmer shoal. Suddenly, a rainbow squid tentacle will snap from the water surface, seizing a flish and disappears. The shoal then vanishes as well, and in its place appears a broad, dark shape, the back of the enormous animal drifting just below the surface. Part of the shoal is not a shoal at all, but the changing pattern on the skin of this squid. With a body 65.5625 feet (20 meters) long, and tentacles of similar length, this is one of the biggest cephalopods that has ever existed. Like other cephalopods, the rainbow squid has the ability to change color at will. It can merge with the ubiquitous green of the ocean and hide from sight; or flash up a sudden dramatic display to scare away would-be predators or to attract a mate. It can even produce a flowing pattern of colored patches to mimic the swirling motion of a shoal of silverswimmers--bait for the ocean flish on which it feeds. It requires approximately 300 average-sized flish a day and is entirely depending on preying upon ocean flish for survival (therefore, is not a danger to any natural land animal, native modern, formerly extinct, and newly-created species, even humans). While the lifespan of a typical squid of most species is only two years, other, simpler mollusks can live for decades. However, unlike most squid species, the rainbow squid has virtually no predators (few other creatures would dare to take on such a giant) and can live for up to a century. With this extended lifespan has come a highly-evolved intelligence and sophistication. The sophistication of the rainbow squid is evident in the way it controls changes of color, through pigmented muscular sacs on the surface of its skin called chromatophores. These can be expanded or contracted at will, producing color changes or flowing patterns over the surface of the whole animal. Each chromatophore is controlled by its nerve, part of a complex nervous system connected to the brain. The rainbow squid's large brain enables it to command the flashes, pulses and rippling patterns that make up the display across its back. Its senses are acute. Indeed, it is so sensitive to its surrounding environment that it is able to choose the appropriate display for any situation: attraction, warming or bait for prey. These color pigments are present in each chromatophore, and combinations of these can produce an almost infinite variety of patterns. Some even contain symbiotic, luminous bacteria, enabling the squid to produce displays of light. The rainbow squid is usually solitary animal that spends most of its life alone, but during breeding seasons, the rainbow squid of different genders congregate in large packs in order to mate to ensure their species' further survival. The conservation status of the rainbow squid is **Least Concern** due to successful conservation efforts and the rainbow squid's wide range.