Jewel Squid

When we first saw the Jewel Squid, in approximately 1500 feet of water off the coast of Roatan, we were confused by its appearance. With the head of a squid and tentacles more like an octopus, we referred to it initially as the squidopus. The Jewel Squid we encountered (Histioteuthis miranda or a similar species) hovered quite patiently when we approached, seemingly unconcerned by our presence.

According to research completed after our mission, the Jewel Squid have one eye that is much larger than the other, the larger eye looking up for food and the smaller eye looking down for predators. They are thought to be important to the diets of sperm whales, dolphins, tuna and some sharks.

If you look carefully at the photos below you may be able to tell if one eye is larger than the other. You may also enjoy trying to count the tentacles. Upon initial inspection we had great difficulty trying to tell if there were eight or ten.

Jewel Squid

Jewel Squid

Jewel Squid