Posted on: Wednesday, August 8, 2001

Squid's reappearance leads to public display

Advertiser Staff

The Waikiki Aquarium is presenting its exhibit of the bigfin reef squid, also known by the Hawaiian name mu he'e.

The species, the only tropical squid encountered close to shore, used to be common in Hawai'i, but have rarely been sighted in the last 40 years.

When it began reappearing earlier this summer, Waikiki Aquarium biologists confirmed the species and designed an exhibit to display the mollusks.

Because of the difficulty in obtaining, transporting and keeping the species alive, this is only the second time the reef squid has been exhibited in a public aquarium in the United States.

Aquarium biologists do not know why the species began reappearing in Hawai'i or how long they will be around.

According to Bruce Carlson, the aquarium's director, the species is not endangered, but biologists are attempting to breed the squid now on exhibit, an effort in which only one other laboratory in the nation has been successful.