Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Cephalopoda | Oegopsida | Ommastrephidae | Ommastrephinae

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Pelagic; depth range 0 - 1700 m (Ref. 97142). Tropical

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Indo-Pacific and Atlantic Ocean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m ? range ? - ? cm Max length : 8.1 cm ML male/unsexed; (Ref. 97142); 10.5 cm ML (female)

Maximum depth from Ref. 110525. Distributed mainly in zones of trade-wind currents and adjoining parts of the central waters of the cyclonic circulations; absent from zones of equatorial divergence. Epipelagic to mesopelagic and upper bathypelagic; inhabits open waters over great depths of more than 400 m; not related in any biological or oceanographic way to bottom and slope waters. Paralarvae and juveniles inhabit the upper 50 m at night and from 100 to 200 m during the day. Subadult and adult squids inhabit subsurface layers from 15 or 20 m to 150 m at night. Have been occasionally observed at night at the surface. Inhabit depths from 200 to 800 m during the day. Local population numbers are low to moderate. Males reach maturity at 5.0 to 6.5 cm mantle length (age 80 to 100 days), and females mature at 5.0 to 9.0 cm (age 80 to 135 days). No pronounced geographical variability exists for size at maturity or size morphology. Life span is half a year. Spawning occurs throughout the year with some seasonal variability in activity. An intermittent, multibatch spawner. Feeds mainly on juvenile teleosts and squid, hyperiid amphipods, crab larvae, chaetognaths and to a lesser degree on copepods, shrimps, euphausiids and teleost larvae. Predators include several oceanic species of ommastrephid squids, dolphinfish (Coryphaena), lancet fish (Alepisarus), bonito (Sarda), different species of tunas and sea birds. Off eastern Australia, it is preyed upon by yellow fin tuna (Thunnus albacares). In the tropical Atlantic Ocean, it is an important prey of several fishes such as albacore (T. alalunga), yellowfin tuna, bigeye tuna (T. obesus), sailfish (Istiophorus albicans), blue marlin (Makira nigricans), white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) and longbill spearfish (T. pfluegeri). Most subadult and adult squids are infested by helminth parasites, principally metacercariae of trematodes of the family Didymozoidae, that are localized in cysts on the inner wall of the stomach (Ref. 97142).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Cephalopoda are gonochoric. Male and female adults usually die shortly after spawning and brooding, respectively. Mating behavior: Males perform various displays to attract potential females for copulation. During copulation, male grasp the female and inserts the hectocotylus into the female's mantle cavity where fertilization usually occurs. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into planktonic stage and live for some time before they grow larger and take up a benthic existence as adults.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Roper, C.F.E., M.J. Sweeney and C.E. Nauen. 1984. (Ref. 275)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 05 May 2010

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

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Tools

E-book | Field guide

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items

Common names
Synonyms
Predators
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Morphology
Larvae
Abundance

References
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures

Internet sources

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 5.2 - 16, mean 9.6 (based on 1328 cells).

Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (10 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Medium.

Hyaloteuthis pelagica (Bosc, 1802)