MarLIN

information on the biology of species and the ecology of habitats found around the coasts and seas of the British Isles

Little squid (Alloteuthis media)

Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.

Researched byEmily Wilson Refereed byAdmin
Authority(Linnaeus, 1758)
Other common names- Synonyms-

Summary

Description

Body grows to 200 mm long with fins less than half the mantle length. Arms and tentacles are long and slender. The lateral mantle edge is oblique, not straight as in Alloteuthis subulata.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

All British and Irish coasts.

Global distribution

Eastern Atlantic; Irish Sea, English Channel south into the Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat

Found over sandy and muddy grounds

Depth range

20-200 m

Identifying features

  • Mantle long, relatively narrow, its posterior end drawn out into a narrow, pointed tail.
  • Fins heart shaped, their lateral angles rounded, posterior borders concave, extending posteriorly along tail.
  • Buccal suckers absent.
  • Tentacles long and robust.

Additional information

Also commonly known as the midsize squid.

Listed by

- none -

Further information sources

Search on:

NBN WoRMS

Bibliography

  1. Boyle, P.R. & Pierce, G.J., 1994. Fishery biology of northeast Atlantic squid: an overview. Fisheries Research, 21(Special Issue), 1-15.

  2. Hayward, P., Nelson-Smith, T. & Shields, C. 1996. Collins pocket guide. Sea shore of Britain and northern Europe. London: HarperCollins.

  3. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E. (ed.), 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]

  4. Miramand, P. & Bentley, D., 1992. Concentration and distribution of heavy metals in tissues of two cephalopods, Eledone cirrhosa and Sepia officinalis, from the French coast of the English Channel Marine Biology, 114, 407-414.

  5. Roper, C.F.E., Sweeney, M.J. & Nauen, C.E., 1984. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 3. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries. FAO Fisheries Synopsis, 125, 3, 277.

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 1999. Alloteuthis media Little squid. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. (eds) Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Available from: http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1112

Last Updated: 30/04/1999