The cephalopods of Lembeh are some of the most fantastic and sought after creatures that our divers can discover. These include Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopus. Today we are going to be talking about the Squid you might find in Lembeh. There are 3 species of squid that are found through the strait.
The first squid that you may come across, and the most common is the Big fin Reef Squid. These squid can be found either during the day or at night but like most cephalopods they are more active once the sun has set.
This is the biggest of the squid we get here, with sizes reaching often around 30 cm in length and the adults can be almost twice that! These squid can be found as shallow as 1 meter and follow you down to 30 meters as well. They are often seen in either ones or twos but can be found in a ‘squad’ of a couple dozen or so. They hunt small crabs and shrimps when they are young and the adults hunt larger crabs and also small fish. Last week we were fortunate to see a large big fin reef squid hunting a school of striped catfish. Have a look at our Facebook page for the upcoming video in the next few days.
The second and smallest squid (max length 20 mm) you might find in Lembeh is the Pygmy Squid. This squid is solitary and can be found in shallow waters, usually hanging around some sea grass or algae, using it for cover. These squid are almost exclusively found during the day and can be seen hunting as well. The above picture is a pygmy squid after just catching a small shrimp in its mouth!
The third and most colourful squid we have in Lembeh is the adorable Bobtail Squid. The Bobtail squid is a small nocturnal squid which has a symbiotic relationship with bioluminescent bacteria. The bacteria ives within a special organ of the squid and in return for being fed a sugary substance it keeps the squid camouflaged by hiding its silhouette when viewed from below, mimicking the amount of light above it. The squid also has a tendancy to bury itself in the sand, using its tiny tentacles to gather sand around it and stick the sand to its body. This method of protection is very effective and also incredibly cute to watch.
Which squid have you seen in Lembeh and which is your favourite? Remember to keep an eye out on the facebook page for the video of the Bigfin Reef Squid hunting!