Scuba Diver Ocean Planet Issue 06/2016

© 123RF/ Andrea Izzotti 3 6 REEF SQUID Squid are abundant in all oceans of the world. They have torpedo-shaped bodies, with the hood-like part above their heads called their mantle which contains their stomach and organs and two large complex eyes. Squid communicate through a variety of complex signals by controlling the pigment in their skin. They have the largest eye-to-body ratio in the entire animal kingdom. © Gill McDonald MIMIC OCTOPUS This remarkable little fellow – and they are smaller than you expect – can mimic up to 17 different other, usually venemous, species including the sea snake, flounder, lionfish, sting ray and feather star. They are rarely seen in the open by divers and usually just have their eyes protruding from a sandy or muddy burrow. They are found around Indonesia and Malaysia, particularly in the Lembeh Strait in Sulawesi. COCONUT OCTOPUS (VEINED OCTOPUS) These guys hunt for crustaceans at night, and in the daytime take shelter in anything they can find. This can be empty clam shells, empty coconut husks or discarded bottles or tins. Sometimes it can be seen actually carrying their chosen temporary home, clutching two halves of a shell and using the rest of its tentacles to walk across the sand. 5 7 © 123RF/Paul Fleet GIANT SQUID Giant squid can snatch prey up to 10 metres away by firing their two feeding tentacles, which are tipped with hundreds of powerful, sharptoothed suckers. The largest recorded specimen is 13 metres long. They live in deep ocean and little is known about them since they are hard to find. Research is only possible on animals which are washed up on beaches around the world. BROADCLUB CUTTLEFISH These are the most common cuttlefish on coral reefs and are active in the daytime. They can rapidly change colour and texture, forming spikes on their smooth skin in mere seconds. They eat mainly shrimps and can be seen with tentacles buried in a patch of coral, digging for food. They float above reefs looking sometimes like alien spaceships, flickering pulses across their bodies. The male cuttlefish can only reproduce once, and the female dies shortly after laying her eggs. © Gill McDonald © Gill McDonald 4

Scuba Diver Ocean Planet Issue 06/2016 | Page 63