why do squid swim backwards?

Answer 1

to keep the water out of there eyes lol

Answer 2

Given the choice, I would swim backwards, if I could see where I was going. Its much more relaxing than any other way, just gently waving your limbs, just the right way, not going anywhere particularly fast.

But if a squid needs a quick burst of speed it can use a get of water from its mouth to get out of trouble.

Answer 3

have you ever tried to swim backwards? is it more difficult to swim backwrd than forward? or at least, do you swim faster forward? it's bc of they way you are built, squids swim backward bc when they push off with their tentacles, they go faster backward
it's also a defense mechanism, when threatened, they can shoot out ink without blinding themselves and get away from predators safely

Answer 4

If I were trying to be funny Id say because their leggs would get ion the way if they swam the other way...But they really dont swim backwards..They swim head first like you and I.
Blessed Be~

Answer 5

Squids dont swim only backwards, they can swim both ways. Squids are also intelligent creatures, with a well developed nervous system and the decision to swim in a particular direction is often out of choice. Either sometimes to catch a prey, or to avoid being caught, or when they want to mate etc . etc.
The squid's role as a predator is enormously enhanced by its ability to swim rapidly. Squids have been called "invertebrate athletes" that "inch for inch...compete in swimming power with any other creature that lives in the sea." How do squid swim so fast? Like other cephalopods, squids make use of jet propulsion. The basic swimstroke is described as follows:

The squid sucks in water through the mantle opening
The squid shuts the mantle, a kind of locking mechanism
The squid tell its mantle muscles to contract! (using the brain and giant axon)
The squid propels forwards or backwards as water jets out it funnel
Water enters the mantle cavity at the mantle collar by expansion of the circular muscles that line the mantle. By closing the collar, water is forced outwards through the funnel. When the squid needs speed, it rapidly contracts the mantle which forces water out the funnel and rapidly propels the squid in the direction opposite to that in which the funnel is pointing. Because the funnel is flexible, squid can actually move backwards or forwards, depending on which direction the funnel is pointed. Backwards movements are more effective than forwards movements; the torpedo-like shape of the body and the fins act to reduce drag and assist the squid in jetting through the water. The fins may also be used for propulsion in some species, either by undulating them or flapping them.
Another swimming advantage is realized by the location of the squid's gills, called ctenidia. Squids have two gills attached to the inner wall of the mantle. Water coming in through the mantle collar flows over these gills, oxygen is extracted, and the water is pumped out the funnel. If the squid is swimming fast, more water is passed over the gills and more oxygen can be extracted. This arrangement allows squid to achieve high rates of motion, up to 20 knots per hour, for limited periods of time, much like a drag racer or Olympic sprinter!

The oxygen available to squid is further enhanced by the squid's blood, which contains the copper-based hemocyanin, which is less viscous and easier to pump than hemoglobin. The circulatory system of squids has three "hearts" which pump blood through these ctenidia. The right and left branchial hearts pump blood through the gills where it is returned to the ventricular heart. This heart pumps blood forward and backwards through aorta to the rest of the body. Circulation and breathing are vital to the survival of the squid; low oxygen concentrations cause them to quickly lose strength. Aquariums which successfully keep squid must supply well-oxygenated water to keep them alive.

Despite the squid's swimming abilities, its abilities as a high jumper should not be overlooked. Instances where squid have leaped more than 40 feet out of the water are not uncommon. Apparently, when trying to avoid their predators, which can be numerous, entire schools of squid will leap and fall into the sea simultaneously, in one balletic motion. Consider this account by Thor Heyerdahl and his companions aboard the Kon-Tiki in 1947:

One sunny morning we all saw a glittering shoal of something which shot out of the water and flew through the air like large rain drops, while the sea boiled with pursuing dolphins. At first we took it for a shoal of flying fish, for we had already had three different kinds of these on board. But when they came near, and some of them sailed over the raft at a height of four or five feet, one ran straight into Bengt's chest and fell slap on deck. It was a small squid. Our astonishment was great.

The squids ability to avoid predators is probably what has kept it alive over the eons. Squids are prey for nearly all fishes in the ocean, many marine mammals, and even birds. Man, too, is quite fond of squid; thus, squid have evolved an entire arsenal of tools to avoid being eaten.

Answer 6

Because their head and legs are on the front end of their body and their fins are on the their backside which faces forward so when they go forward they swim backwards. ;)

Answer 7

Their backwards is your forwards, so how do you know they are swimming either way?

Answer 8

The force of their tentacles coming together to move forces them in that particular direction.

Answer 9

what makes you think it's backwards? I bet they think everything else goes backwards.

Answer 10

SQUID CANNOT SWIM FORWARD DUE TO THEIR TENTACLES,SWIMMING BACK THEY ARE MORE STREAMLINED AND THEY USE JET PROPULSION.:I.E EXPELLING WATER FROM THEIR 'MOUTH'