YEsss, I just caught a baby cuttle fish!!

[Colin]

Hi chrono,
yeah that is entirely possible but would be breaking several laws. Their introduction would probably cause a major problem to the animals in Hawaii that are already occupying that particular niche and certainly wouldnt be a good thing to do. There are many examples of animals being released where they shouldnt be... grey squirrels, cane toads, rats... even dogs and cats!

I was careful to say in my last post, 'native'. Just to cover any 'accidental' introductions

cheers

 

[Thales]

Tridacna once shouted

Colin, there ARE cuttlefish in Hawaii.

and

There are no cuttlefish in Hawaii IF one relies on books and the internet for the distribution of cuttlefish. Speak to the locals , dive, snorkel and your ignorance will change


No need to be so snotty...

Trust me, you don't get wild native Sepia around Hawaii.

I would also be slightly wary of trusting locals to ID cuttles. Many people that live in places with cuttles think they are squid, and it can be difficult to tell the difference.

 

[chrono_war01]

Well, I always thought you could identify it by looking at the eys..the pupils, no?

 

[kinetic]

any updates on this ceph that may be a cuttle or squid?

 

[Hawaii_Cuttle]

Hello all, I just got back from Hawaii a week ago and I can confirm that there are cuttlefish there.

I was snorkeling on Waikiki (the worst place to snorkel but I was staying there and was bored) in about 4 / 5 feet of water in the mid afternoon and came across four cuttlefish. The three larger cuttlefish were roughly 1 foot in length, with the smaller one about 1/3 the size of the larger ones.

The encounter lasted roughly 15 minutes and in that time I observed the distinctive cuttlefish eye, which looks nothing like the Hawaiian bobtail squid's eye. All four cuttlefish flashed colors at me wildly, and the largest of the four routinely raised a single arm in the water as if trying to tell me something.

I have snorkeled a lot all over Hawaii, Caribbean, and Kenyan coast, and have never encountered an animal that was as curious of me as I was of it. Now I am no cuttlefish expert, but I am 99% sure that is what I saw. They were definitely not Hawaiian bobtail squid.

 

[Thales]

I would guess sepioteuthis based on location and size
Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Bigfin Reef squid - The Cephalopod Page

They do look a lot like cuttlefish which is why they have the seipo at the beginning of their name. Ah - I guess that pretty much sums up the link!

 

[Animal Mother]

For a minute I was getting PO'ed and preparing my soapbox. Took me a minute to realize it is a 2 year old thread.

"Ignorant"... coming from someone who brought a wild animal home and THEN asked how to take care of it.

 

[cuttlegirl]

Here's a link to some more photos of Sepioteuthis. I didn't post the photos directly because these are prints for sale...

Print Sales - Eric Cheng

I would also say that they are most likely squid since you saw them swimming in a group.

 

[OB]

OK, now this is interesting, I take it you went without a camera? A one foot total length is not a small cuttle, and rules out a number of alternatives. Are you absolutely sure it couldn't have been Sepioteuthis sp.?

Edit: I see similar responses posted in the mean while

 

[Hawaii_Cuttle]

After taking a look at the pictures posted, and reading just a bit about the Sepioteuthis sp. I have a feeling that is what I saw.

Too bad though, I really enjoyed being able to say that I saw a cuttlefish while snorkeling. Saying that I saw a group of squid won't be nearly as awe-inspiring.

They certainly were very inquisitive, much more so than the octopi that I have encountered in the past (they just want to hide).

Anyhow thanks for the clarification!

 

[cuttlegirl]

I think seeing a group of squid is awe-inspiring. I lived in Hawaii for 3 years and never saw a squid. Come to think of it, I've never seen squid in the wild... or cuttlefish... yikes, time to start diving/snorkeling again.

 

[chrono_war01]

I've seen several bigfin reef squids during my time sitting at the local aquairum and the raising a single arm (or sometimes two) seems to be a common behavior, although I haven't had enough time in the aquarium to figure out what triggers them to do that.

And in response to cuttlegirl:
For me, encountering squid and cuttles usually means I've been to the supermarket's fresh seafood section. :/

 

[cuttlegirl]

And in response to cuttlegirl:
For me, encountering squid and cuttles usually means I've been to the supermarket's fresh seafood section. :/

Let me know if you ever start your cuttle rescue program again.

 

[OB]

The only live squid I ever encountered under water were a group of 4 Caribbean reef squid off St. Johns. They followed my movements intensely, just hovering and adapting their orientation according to mine, holding perfect position. Then, all of a sudden, they just jetted off like an imperial fleet making the jump to light speed; very impressive. To me, a very memorable experience, and a one off, also

 

[JOJO1978]

This picture was taken in 08 on a morning dive in Maui...does not look like an octopus to me!