Squid
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Squid in Defensive Posture
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The Caribbean Reef Squid is the only squid species commonly sighted by divers over inshore reefs in the Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean region. Squid are in the Class Cephalopoda (Sef-uh-low-POE-duh), which also includes Octopuses. Cephalopods have long arms with powerful suction cups that are used to catch prey and bring it to the mouth. All are carnivores that have a pair of powerful, beaklike jaws to crush or tear food. Giant squid, that live at great depths, are the largest invertebrate animals alive. Although these great creatures have never been sighted alive by biologists, they are estimated to reach a length of nearly sixty feet.
Squid are one of the most beautiful and fascinating marine invertebrates to observers in the wild because of their ability to quickly and dramatically change both their color and body patterns. This strategy is used as a defense to confuse predators and to communicate between members of a shoal. Caribbean Reef Squid are believed to display nearly 40 different patterns. Colors are produced by chromatophore organs, part of the muscular system, controlled directly by the brain.
Like all squid, Caribbean Reef Squid have eight arms and two longer tentacles that stream behind their elongated body as they swim by expelling water from a mantle cavity with a water-jet action. They are generally quite social, living in groups of ten to thirty individuals, called shoals. By day, shoals hang out over shallow grass beds and sand flats, where they can be seen engaging in mating rituals during the last hour before sunset. On average, squid shoals are attacked seven times an hour during the daytime, by such predators as Bar and Yellow Jacks, Cero Mackerels and groupers. This makes them quite wary of everything that enters their domain. As they rest, hovering over a sand flat, members of a shoal typically form a line with larger individuals, acting as sentinels, stationed at each end and near the middle. When approaching danger is detected, the shoal typically forms into a tight school and jets away as a group. Because of their vigilance, squids are difficult for diver or snorkelers to closely observe during daylight hours.
Squids are more commonly sighted, and much easier to approach, at night when the shoal moves out over the reefs searching for their favorite foods, which include small fish and shrimp. For some unexplained reason squid are attracted to artificial light and often approach divers carrying underwater hand lights. In such cases, a patient diver can enjoy observing these fascinating creatures from only a few feet away.
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A Squid in the Hand
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When a shoal is sighted, minimize movement and shine your beam in their direction. Wait to see if the squid will swim closer; if not, calmly move in their direction. If they jet away slowly, follow cautiously at a respectable distance. This tactic may take several attempts before the school pauses nearby allowing you and your fascinating light to gain their confidence. If you move too rapidly, startled individuals will spread their tentacles, change colors, squirt a defensive cloud of ink and rapidly jet away. At times, if you are cautious, patient, and lucky, the hovering school may allow you to approach within arm's length. If very lucky, you might even be able to slip an outstretched hand under an individual's mantle and feel water gently pulsing from its body.
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