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Sandhaven, Aberdeenshire |
Octopus Keep your eyes open and its surprising how common these are around the NE of Scotland. On occasion sightings have approached double figures during a 40minute dive. Perhaps surprisingly however the species which is seen is not the Common Octopus Octopus vulgaris, which is restricted to southern waters, but the Curled Octopus Eledone cirrhosa. Whilst the former has 2 rows of suckers along their arms the latter has only a single row. Sometimes seen swimming, or curled up on the surface of the reef, they are more likely to be seen hiding in crevices where their white undersides and prominent eyes are particularly noticeable. Colouring will frequently change to match the background, or turn white if illuminated by a bright torch. If annoyed they have the capacity to discharge black ink as a "smoke" screen to hide their escape.
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Little cuttle Only a few inches long with the body being almost spherical, this species is found over sand. |
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Squid Very infrequently seen by divers but known by fishing boats to be present close inshore along the Moray coast in very large numbers, particularly around dusk and dawn. |
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