Thank you for the images Roland  BUT (in southern speak) "that aint what i
saw!!"    the "creature " i personally observed was more bulbous, didn't
have the iridescence and was much larger . The spots you see on the squid
were not on that "creature" , there was a pattern similar but changed to a
much paler tones when it passed to the sand. the fins it front (or rear,
sort of like a edsel, can't tell the front from the back ) were more
triangular shaped , not as elongated. the sun was high when it was seen ,
the water very clear and since i had never seen one in the wild i did take
as much detail into the old data bank as possible , that's one reason i
remember it so well and seem so sure .  so maybe someone rescued it from an
aquarium store and set it free like the people who buy the Maine lobsters
and send them back up north. so next time i see another misplaced creature
i'd better catch'em , pickle'em and scan'em.



From: Roland Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thursday, November 11, 1999 5:22 PM
Subject: Re: Cuttlefish


>Hi Ferret,
>There are a couple of good photographs of Caribbean reef squid on the
internet Cephalopod Page at:
>
>http://is.dal.ca/~ceph/TCP/Ssepioidea.html
>
>These are obviously juveniles, about ½ size. The photos were taken at
night. Their daytime color is a deep chocolate brown.
>
>Although it may be a bit surprising that cuttlefish have not emigrated to
the Americas, I can assure you that they have not , yet. At least, they have
never been found alive on North or South America or even Hawaii, except in
aquariums.
>
>Best regards,
>Roland
>
>Roland
>
>Roland C. Anderson, Puget Sound Biologist
>The Seattle Aquarium
>1483 Alaskan Way
>Seattle WA 98101 USA
>phone: 206-386-4359
>See our website: www.seattleaquarium.org
>
>>>> ferreter <[log in to unmask]> 11/11 7:58 AM >>>
>Roland , before i back down to what i saw i need to see and image of
>Sepioteuthis sepioidea. gota see the evidence . after all ,baby
cephalopods
>are  pelagic and drift with the other planktonic sea life  so why wouldn't
>they be able to survive the round trip from Africa through the Sargasso sea
>to the Americas ? just clinging desperately to my witness, ferret
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Roland Anderson <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>Date: Thursday, November 11, 1999 3:06 PM
>Subject: Re: Cuttlefish
>
>
>>Andrew, Ferreter, et al.,
>>There are no cuttlefish in American waters. Abbott is correct in that
>regard. We have the Caribbean reef squid which looks like a cuttlefish and
>hence its name: . A different species Sepioteuthis lessoniana is sometimes
>found in Hawaii.
>>Roland
>>
>>Roland C. Anderson, Puget Sound Biologist
>>The Seattle Aquarium
>>1483 Alaskan Way
>>Seattle WA 98101 USA
>>phone: 206-386-4359
>>See our website: www.seattleaquarium.org
>>
>>>>> Andrew D Dickson <[log in to unmask]> 11/10 5:51 AM >>>
>>Dear Bob and Mark,
>>
>>Actually a couple of divers have told me about their cuttlefish
>>sightings.  One told me he sees them at night off  Palm Beach all the
>>time.  The second edition of American Seashells (page 571) says that they
>>are not found in these waters.
>>
>>Andrew Dickson
>>[log in to unmask]
>>
>