Opalescent Squid (Doryteuthis opalescens)

Description: Although squid themselves are very rarely found in the tide pools at Haystack Rock, their egg sacs wash ashore occasionally. Most of these eggs come from the opalescent squid, also known as the opal squid or California market squid. As their name suggests, they have an iridescent coloration of white and purple but that coloration may change with their environment. They have eight arms and two tentacles. From the point of their mantle to the end of their arms, they measure just under 28 cm.

Habitat: These opalescent squid are found from southeast Alaska down to Mexico, migrating together in large schools and can be at the surface or down to 800 m.

Diet: Juvenile opalescent squid feed on crustaceans while adults feed on crustaceans, krill, small fish, and other squid.

Tide Pool Tidbits:

• These squid live less than a year and die right after reproducing.

• Females deposit egg capsules in sand, normally attached to seaweed in clusters. Each egg capsule can have between 180-300 eggs!

References: NOAA Fisheries, Monterey Bay Aquarium, The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by J Duane Sept