Not only dives! The snorkeling has been amazing as well. The little stuff has been incredible! Diving isn’t all sharks and huge pelagics, it is also the tiniest members of the ocean community that fascinate.
Randy and I have been snorkeling every day for the first time since his double lung transplant almost two years ago! He has been thrilled to be back in Cozumel. We have really been enjoying our time here, and on our snorkels we have seen several reef squid hanging around. I didn’t know if they were cuttlefish or squid, and a couple of readers let me know they are squids…Caribbean Reef Squid or Inshore Arrow Squid, they are still fascinating, even magical, creatures. On Tuesday, July 7, we were doing our usual route over the reef system in front of our house, and I saw a few squids. After looking around, I realized it wasn’t a few, it was an aggregation! They fly in the water like a squadron, and they were everywhere. When I swam between them they separated into groups, then regathered. They are intelligent, and you can see a lively curiosity in their large beautiful eyes. Like an octopus, they change colors, white to lavender to iridescent. I wanted to stay and watch them for hours, but finally Randy dragged me away.
Since the hurricane Wilma in 2006, sea horses and pipefish are hard to find. On Palancar Gardens on July 6, the dive guide, Yasser, found a pipehorse! It was so tiny, even for a pipefish! So tiny, and so precious! Again, I could have spent the dive observing it, but I had to move on.
Prior to this trip I replaced my prescription dive mask, which was at least 5 years old. I feel like I am seeing a whole new world! Nothing like being able to see! For instance, I have always loved Christmas tree worms, but now that I have my new prescription I realize they have a body, or tube, which is also quite pretty! It is so easy to miss things…I could spend 24 hours a day for years on just this one reef and never see it all. It changes minute to minute.
The entire trip has been Squid Fest! It must be time to breed.
As I said, even the small creatures can be exciting!
Want to enjoy Cozumel? Check it out! http://tamtravels.wpengine.com/category/midlife-journey/transplant-an-unexpected-journey/
These aren’t cuttlefish. Here is an explanation from the director of the aquarium at the University of Hawaii.
http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/Soffic.php
Not a hydromedusa, either. It’s a non-stinging comb jelly. The Smithsonian Institute offers an excellent article outlining the differences between these two types of animals. http://ocean.si.edu/jellyfish-and-comb-jellies
Thanks.
I wondered if it was a comb jelly…sometimes it is hard to tell. Not a cuttle? I’m headed out to dive, but I will definitely check out the cephalopod page!
Thanks for letting me know.
Thanks for taking new info in the spirit intended! Hope you enjoyed your dive! 🙂
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No worries…I do my research and puzzled for quite a while before calling them cuttles. My book indicates that they may also be Inshore Arrow Squid. Humann says you can’t be sure without a specimen, though…and I would rather keep them in the ocean. 🙂
The video added a new dimension to my armchair underseas travels. Thanks so much!
LOL, anytime…I am trying to take more video.
These are not cuttlefish; we do not have them in North America or the Caribbean. These are Caribbean reef squid.
Thanks for the information! Everyone here just says “cuttle fish”. I have a fish ID book for every region I dive in, and wondered why I couldn’t find cuttlefish, and now I know! I also looked online…obviously not well enough! They are beautiful, aren’t they?
Awesome!! The Christmas tree worms look like a brain!
I love them, they are so feathery and colorful. The worms are sitting on brain coral!