| Lolliguncula brevis | |
|---|---|
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| Lolliguncula brevis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Myopsida |
| Family: | Loliginidae |
| Genus: | Lolliguncula |
| Species: | L. brevis |
| Binomial name | |
| Lolliguncula brevis (Blainville, 1823) [1] | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Lolliguncula brevis, or the Atlantic brief squid, is a small species of squid in the Loliginidae family. It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean. [2]
The Atlantic brief squid occurs most frequently in shallow waters along the eastern seaboard of the United States as far north as Delaware. It has also been found in Argentina, Brazil, the British Virgin Islands, Colombia, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. [3]
The female Atlantic brief squid is about 11 cm long and the male 9 cm. The basic colour is dark reddish-brown to yellow-brown and there are many chromatophores on the upper surface which enable the squid to change colour. The mantle is widest in the middle and tapers to a rounded point at the back. The fins are wider than they are long, rounded and about half the length of the mantle. [2] The mantle has thick muscular walls and a large water-filled cavity and is separated from the head by a collar. The head has two large eyes, the structure of which is very similar to vertebrate eyes. There is a funnel underneath the head which is used in locomotion. There are five pairs of appendages. Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5 are short tapering arms with two rows of suckers. The left 5th appendage of males is modified to form a hectocotylus arm which is used to transfer spermatophores into the female reproductive organ. The other pair of appendages are contractile tentacles and are much longer than the arms. These have clubs with four rows of suckers at the distal end and are used for capturing food which is then transferred to the arms. The posterior end of the female mantle is occupied by a pair of white nidamental glands which secrete the material from which the egg capsule is formed. [4]
This species is found in warm shallow waters, often at the mouths of rivers where it is known to tolerate low salinity levels, down to about half normal marine salinity (17.9‰), which makes it one of the most euryhaline cephalopod mollusks. [5] However, only slightly lower salinities (16.5‰) kills it in about 48 hours. [6] It eats small fish and crustaceans. In order to move, water inside the mantle cavity is expelled through the funnel by muscular contraction of the mantle walls. To catch fast moving prey, the contraction is vigorous, sending a jet of water through the funnel which is directed backwards. To escape a predator, the funnel is directed forwards and the squid shoots backwards at great speed. It can also emit a cloud of ink to distract the predator. [7] Eggs are deposited in a gelatinous capsule attached to the sea bed. [2] The large-yolked eggs hatch into fully formed miniature versions of the parent squid. [7]
An octopus is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda. The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the center point of the eight limbs. The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.
A squid is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting these criteria. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, and a mantle. They are mainly soft-bodied, like octopuses, but have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin.
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishers sometimes call cephalopods "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology.
Cranchia scabra is a species of glass squid. It is the only species in the genus, and is fairly small. They reside in the epipelagic zones of the tropical Atlantic. The genus also contains bioluminescent species. Cranchia scabra are named after John Cranch who first described this species.
Rossia palpebrosa, also known as the warty bobtail squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern Atlantic Ocean.
Gonatus onyx is in the class Cephalopoda and in the phylum Mollusca. It is also known as the clawed arm hook squid or the black-eyed squid. It got these names from the characteristic black eye and from its two arms with clawed hooks on the end that extend a bit further than the other arms. It is a squid in the family Gonatidae, found most commonly in the northern Pacific Ocean from Japan to California. They are one of the most abundant cephalopods off the coast of California, mostly found at deeper depths, rising during the day most likely to feed.
All cephalopods possess flexible limbs extending from their heads and surrounding their beaks. These appendages, which function as muscular hydrostats, have been variously termed arms, legs or tentacles.
Heteroteuthis dispar, also known as the odd bobtail, is a small deep water squid found in the North Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Sepioteuthis lessoniana, commonly known as the bigfin reef squid, tiger squid, glitter squid or oval squid, is a species of loliginid squid. It is one of the three currently recognized species belonging to the genus Sepioteuthis. Studies in 1993, however, have indicated that bigfin reef squids may comprise a cryptic species complex. The species is likely to include several very similar and closely related species.
Teuthowenia megalops, sometimes known as the Atlantic cranch squid, is a species of glass squid from the subarctic and temperate waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean. They are moderately sized squid with a maximum mantle length of 40 cm (16 in). Their very large eyes are the source for the specific name megalops. Like other members of the genus Teuthowenia, they are easily recognizable by the presence of three bioluminescent organs (photophores) on their eyeballs.
Sthenoteuthis pteropus, also known as the orangeback flying squid or orangeback squid, is a species of cephalopod in the family Ommastrephidae. It is native to tropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean where it is found to depths of about 200 m (656 ft).
Rossia pacifica, also known as the stubby squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern Pacific Ocean. It usually occurs in winter on sandy slopes away from strong currents in moderately shallow water. In summer it moves to deeper water where it breeds. The female cements the egg capsules under a stone or in some other concealed location, and both male and female die soon after breeding.
Alloteuthis media, the midsize squid or little squid, is a species of squid in the family Loliginidae from the eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea. It is generally a by-catch species in trawl fisheries, although there is an active fishery in the western Mediterranean.
Lolliguncula is a genus of squid from the family Loliginidae from the eastern Pacific and western Atlantic, known as brief squid. The genus is divided into two subgenera Lolliguncula and Loliolopsis. They are rather small squids with a maximum mantle length of 120mm, that inhabit shallow warm seas, although some species have been recorded in areas of low salinity. They are typified by having a short mantle, which is round at the posterior; and fins that are broader than long, but which have no posterior lobes. The males produce spermatophores with a long cement body and they lack a ventral crest on their hectocotylus. Their suckers have square teeth which ring the entire margin or are placed distally. The males do not have enlarged suckers on the left ventral arm. The tentacular club is expanded and contains suckers in four series. The two subgenera differ in the morphology of the hectocotylus.
Gonatopsis borealis, the Boreopacific armhook squid, is a species of squid from the North Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the family Gonatidae. It is an abundant species which is currently caught mainly as a bycatch by fishing boats targeting other quarry. It is an important prey species for many commercially important species of fish, as well as for marine mammals.
Eucleoteuthis is a monotypic genus of squid from the family Ommastrephidae; the only species is Eucleoteuthis luminosa, the striped flying squid or luminous flying squid.
The Antarctic flying squid is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae of the family Ommastrephidae, a family of pelagic squid from the order Oegopsida. It has a circumglobal distribution in the seas around the lower latitudes of the Southern Ocean.
The European flying squid is a species of squid from the continental slope and oceanic waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is the type species of the genus Todarodes, the type genus of the subfamily Todarodinae of the pelagic squid family Ommastrephidae. It is a species which is targeted by some fisheries, although it is more often a bycatch.
Uroteuthis noctiluca, commonly known as the luminous bay squid, is a species of squid native to shallow water on the eastern coast of Australia. It uses a pair of luminous organs to camouflage itself from predators at night.
Sepiadarium austrinum, the southern bottletail squid, is a species of cuttlefish in the genus Sepiadarium. It was first described by S. Stillman Berry in 1921 based on a specimen found in St. Vincent Bay in South Australia.