There's still Humbolts in the bay.

[g1138]

This is more of a brag post. Today I saw a living, breathing, and swimming humbolt squid in the Great Tide Pool at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The guy or gal must have gotten washed in, in this morning's swell at high tide.
Several Opaleye were also washed in, but the groups took no real interest to each other.

I didn't get a chance to grab my phone and snap a photo, but I'll try if he's there tomorrow. (I decided to leave early to beat the traffic from community week)
Might be able to steal the one off my friend's facebook if he uploads his shot.

Anywhozles, guess they're still here!

Edit:
[video=vimeo;55247517]http://vimeo.com/55247517[/video]

 

[zinmaker]

Has anyone cut one of the squid open to see what they are eating?

This is more of a brag post. Today I saw a living, breathing, and swimming humbolt squid in the Great Tide Pool at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. The guy or gal must have gotten washed in, in this morning's swell at high ]

 

[ScubaSteve]

That's very cool....and very small.

 

[drrich2]

Glad you posted. Which makes me wonder; could one be maintained in a large public aquarium? I know some molluscs (e.g. octopi) are notoriously short-lived, but I see cuttlefish and octopi in public aquariums.

Richard.

 

[Drewpy]

Very cool!
Its hard to estimate the size? Seems like he is about 2-3 feet?

 

[ScubaSteve]

Very cool!
Its hard to estimate the size? Seems like he is about 2-3 feet?

Really? I had estimated it at much less than a foot because of the ripples in the sand.......but then that was just a guess

 

[Gombessa]

Has anyone cut one of the squid open to see what they are eating?

They found a mask strap and half of a second stage.

 

[fisheater]

Glad you posted. Which makes me wonder; could one be maintained in a large public aquarium? I know some molluscs (e.g. octopi) are notoriously short-lived, but I see cuttlefish and octopi in public aquariums.

Richard.

According to an article about the recent beaching of Humboldts in the area, the answer is "no."


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[g1138]

The Seymour Center @UCSC has one in their freezer, kindly donated by a beach goer. We had another which we cut open the first day it came in. Nothing but smaller bits of squid in their stomach, and a few beaks. Curious to note, the stomach is clear, but the contents were completely black. My guess would be squid ink, but I wasn't there when the floor manager took it apart.

If I'm lucky enough to get to necropsy that other one, I'll post an update here.

The one seen at the Monterey Bay Aquarium was definitely 2ft at least. It's a big tidepool.

---------- Post added December 14th, 2012 at 02:25 PM ----------

Glad you posted. Which makes me wonder; could one be maintained in a large public aquarium? I know some molluscs (e.g. octopi) are notoriously short-lived, but I see cuttlefish and octopi in public aquariums.

Richard.

I asked. The first person I ran to was the cephalopod aquarist, asking if we could put him in one of our tanks. She said it's been tried at several aquariums with no success. I didn't pry too much, but you'd probably have trouble getting one to eat, keeping it calm, and having a big enough tank, or even a separate dedicated tank so the other critters are safe.

 

[Ben_ca]

The squid beaching story was on the radio today... Looks like it's still got some steam behind it.