Caribbean Reef Squid are pretty spectacular animals. Shaped like little footballs, Caribbean Reef Squid may be as much as 18 inches long, tentacles and all. That was about the size of this Squid that we saw cruising around and above the corals near the shallows at Ol' Blue Reef near Bonaire.

This Caribbean Reef Squid was exploring the reef at about 10 o'clock on the morning of August 8, 2004. The Squid watched us as we approached, and it swam up to each diver to check us out, being careful not to get too close to us. We swam with it for about 5 minutes, taking pictures and following along as it swam among the divers through the open water just above the corals.

Squid usually swim "pointy end" first, dragging their tentacles through the water behind them. They swim by undulating thin fins that stick out from either side of their bodies. For a burst of speed, a squid also can swim by pushing a jet of water out from its body cavity. Notice all the small white spots on the top of this squid's body, its bright silver eye, and the many small suckers on the insides of each of its tentacles.

Squid eat fish.

Both Squid and Octopuses are members of a category of animals called Mollusks. Compare this Squid to the Octopus we saw near Bonaire, at
e-ReefNews Vol. 6 No. 1 - Octopus in the Shallows

ReefNews President Jonathan Dowell took this picture using a Canon 10D digital camera with a 28-105 mm zoom lens in an Ikelite housing with an Ikelite strobe.

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