Xipholeptos notoides | Pygmy Squid

The Pygmy Squid (Xipholeptos notoides) was previously known as Idiosepius notoides and is the smallest of all cephalopods found in the waters around Romblon Island. They have a small pair of round fins on the rear tip of their body and a large glandular patch on the rear two-thirds of the upper body. Most of them are transparent to greenish and yellowish to dark brown. The female mantle size is up to 30 mm and the length of the male mantle is up to 16 mm. These free-swimming tiny squids are active during day and night and are mostly found to a depth of 20 m within sea grass and coral reefs where they attach to the underside of marine plants with their special adhesive glands, which allows them to stay in position without having to constantly swim.