USVI-On-Line

Okay so we have seen what SO and I have thought were reef squid several times on STJ (Salt Pond, Hawksnest, Lameshur and Vie's Beach).

A friend told us that when they were down there, they were told those were cuttlefish. From what I have read, cuttlefish are not found in the Caribbean.

Does anyone know which is true?

Cuttlefish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuttlefish

I love cuttlefish. I have never seen one in the waters of St. John while I have seen plenty of squid.

Probably were Cuttlefish.

This is a pic of what we saw:


I also found this description of where cuttlefish are found: "The cuttlefish is found in areas of the English Channel, along the West coast of Africa to the Southern tip of the continent and also in the Mediterranean Sea. The cuttlefish belongs to the Sepiida class which also includes the Squids, the Octopus and the Nautiluses."

It's a squid. Positive.

Caribbean Reef Squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea. Not, of course, a fish, but a mollusk without a shell. Saw some less than two hours ago during my sunset snorkel.

Thanks everyone! Does anyone know if there are cuttlefish in the VIs?

nothintolose wrote:Thanks everyone! Does anyone know if there are cuttlefish in the VIs?

I've also seen them at Salt Pond Bay, usually in small schools of 2 or 3. According to Wikipedia, Caribbean Reef Squid are the only squid species seen around the reefs in the Caribbean.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Reef_Squid

A freinds cousin's uncle's sister told me these are Cuttle's we are seeing. Something about the consistant size and squid would vary in size more (?) I don't know. Could I be wrong? Yup. Do I care? Nope. Am I sohisticated? Er, um, thought so.

We need another expert.

I know ya'll may be wondering why I care whether they are squid or cuttlefish, and it may seem like it's not important.

It's not really, especially in the scheme of things, I just like to know what exactly I am looking at if I can for my own personal knowledge. I am in no way an intellectual nor do I claim to be...just interested.

This would have been one of the things my parents would have commented, "Well if you were just as interested in your school work as figuring out if that darn thing was a squid or a cuttlefish, your grades would be ALOT better"

So anyway, thanks to everyone for all of the input. I have come to the conclusion that they are squid...well at least I thought I did until DaveS007's last post...ughhh.

We saw over 40 of them at Vie's right infront of the beach, about 12 of them moving with the current at the point at Hawksnest on the Gibney side and about 5 of them at Salt Pond over the years. The 40 plus at Vie's was just amazing!

Final word (maybe?). THERE ARE NO CUTTLEFISH IN THE CARIBBEAN. Period.

From this website: http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/Ssepioidea.php

Sepioteuthis sepioidea, the Caribbean Reef squid, is commonly observed in shallow near shore water of the Caribbean by divers and snorkelers. These squid are often confused with cuttlefish because they have large fins that wrap around their mantles. They are also broader than many squid and these traits make them look like cuttlefish (Sepia). Actually, if you look at their scientific name you will see that scientists also noticed that these guys look like cuttlefish—the "Sepio" which is in the genus and specific name refers to the fact that they look like cuttlefish while the "teuthis" tells one that they really are a squid. For the record, there are no true cuttlefish (Order Sepiida) off of North America although there are some Sepiolids.