Firefly squid
Amazing fact
The firefly squid flashes lights at its tentacle tips to lure prey such as fish.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
The firefly squid flashes lights at its tentacle tips to lure prey such as fish.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Firefly squid
- Scientific name
- Watasenia scintillans
- Japanese name
- ホタルイカ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Cephalopoda
- Order
- Oegopsida
- Family
- Enoploteuthidae
- Genus
- Watasenia
Where the name “Firefly squid” comes from
The Japanese name hotaru-ika refers to the way it glows like a firefly. Its scientific name honors Dr. Shozaburo Watase.
ほたるいかミュージアムA squid of the deep seas around Japan, mainly the Sea of Japan. In spring it gathers near the shore of Toyama Bay to lay eggs.
Its whole body glows a pale blue-white. The light gives off no heat and is called 'cold light'.
It is thought to protect itself from enemies by adjusting the glow of the light organs on its belly to match the light from above.
How the Firefly squid lives
It spends the day in deep water and swims up to the surface at night to catch prey. It also eats shrimp and crabs. It is thought to use light to send signals to other firefly squid.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebほたるいかミュージアムBasic data
- Lifespan
- 1 year
- Range
- Seas around Japan, mainly the Sea of Japan
Where the Firefly squid has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ホタルイカ
- 简体中文
- 萤火鱿
- 繁體中文
- 螢魷
- 한국어
- 매오징어
- Español
- Calamar Luciérnaga
- Français
- Calmar-luciole
- Deutsch
- Leuchtkalmar
- Italiano
- Calamaro lucciola
- العربية
- يراع الحبار
- Tiếng Việt
- Mực đom đóm
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- ほたるいかミュージアム — ほたるいかとはChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Watasenia scintillansChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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