Hawaiian Reef Squid Now on Display;
Part of The Jet Set Exhibit at the Waikiki Aquarium
After a more than four-year absence, Hawaiian Reef Squid have returned to the Waikiki Aquarium. Now on display as part of The
Jet Set gallery – which also currently features octopus and nautilus – the three squid were hatched and raised by the Aquarium, and have already laid eggs in their new home.
Known in Hawaiian as mu he’e, the Hawaiian Reef Squid is quite common in the Islands. Growing to about 14 inches in length, the squid are one of the ocean’s most intelligent invertebrates.
“These creatures have incredible visual acuity and can, in fact, see you just as well as you can see them,” said Aquarium Director Dr. Andrew Rossiter. “They also have an amazing ability to change colors, almost instantaneously, to signal aggression, courtship and feeding.”
Very difficult to raise in captivity, Hawaiian Reef Squid have a typical
life span of about nine or 10 months.
ABOUT THE WAIKIKI AQUARIUM
Founded in 1904 and administered by the University of Hawaii since 1919, the Waikiki Aquarium is located on the shoreline of Waikiki Beach next to a living reef and across from Kapiolani Park. The Aquarium – third oldest in the U.S. – showcases more than 500 marine species, and maintains more than 3,000 marine specimens. Public exhibits, education programs and research focus on the unique aquatic life of Hawaii and the tropical Pacific.
The Aquarium welcomes more than 300,000 visitors annually, and is open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except Christmas Day. Admission is $9 for visitors; $6 for local residents, active duty military with ID, students with ID and seniors; $4 for youths ages 13-17 and persons with disabilities; $2 for juniors ages 5 to 12; and free for children 4 and under and Friends of Waikiki Aquarium (FOWA) members. For more information about the Waikiki Aquarium, including membership, please call 808-923-9741 or visit http://www.waquarium.org.
Posted by Knox at 12:46 PM.
