We're back from the Island of the Great White Sharks - Isla Guadalupe. As the only shark diving vessel on site for the entire week it was a unique experience having this remote and pristine island all to ourselves.We'll be writing up a full trip report this week once the crew has had a chance to get settled.
Right now it's this critter we're most interested in.
On day three of our five day expedition this little squid drifted past our cages and was scooped up by an alert diver.
Absolutely translucent with internal organs on display (click image for larger view) this squid came with bioluminescent gel packs on the undersides of it's eyes - one very interesting cephalopod.
We're giving away a DVD copy of the Island of the Great White Shark to the first person to positively ident this critter.
The tail fin arrangement was also very cool.
O.K, we'll also throw in a Shark Diver hat and t-shirt as well. We have a boatload of shark divers who want to know.
3 comments:
We may have a winner:
My best guess is that it is from the genus Chiroteuthis, based on what
I perceive to be a long, thick pair of arms IV (put the animal with
the dorsal side up, arms IV will be the ones on the bottom) and the
shape of the fins. One defining feature I can't see is whether or not
there is a row of photophores on the fourth pair of arms. But I can't
make a species ID from this picture, I'm not enough of an expert in
this group. I am cc-ing two people with much more experience in
identifying cephs than I, maybe they can provide some input.
If you are interested, here is the link to the genus Chiroteuthis:
http://tolweb.org/Chiroteuthis/19462
Cheers,
Annie
You may get some help here:
http://www.tonmo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17618
Based upon the shape of the fins I would say that this squid is Lechia dislocata.
http://tolweb.org/Leachia/19544
Best,
Lou
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