Biodiversity & Conservation

European common squid - Alloteuthis subulata

Alloteuthis subulata

Image Toby F.T. Collins - Alloteuthis subulata. Image width ca 12 cm.
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Distribution map

Alloteuthis subulata recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Alloteuthis subulata is not listed under any importance categories.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy Taxon English term
Phylum Mollusca Snails, slugs, mussels, cockles, clams & squid
Class Cephalopoda Cuttlefish, nautilus, octopus & squid
Authority Lamarck, 1798
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland All British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Usually associated with the water column above sandy and hard bottoms.
Text page icon Description Similar to Loligo but much smaller with males reaching up to 20 cm in length. Body tapered posteriorly, forming a slender pointed tail. Fins rounded forming a heart shape in dorsal view. The colour varies from pale grey with brown - purple spots.
Identifying features
  • Mantle long and narrow, anterior ventral mantle margin shallowly curved.
  • Tail long and pointed in adult females and very long and spike like in adult males.
  • Fins rhombic, with pointed lateral angles, their posterior borders concave and extending along tail.
  • Tentacles short, delicate with small, narrow clubs.
  • Colour - pale grey with brown - purple spots.
Additional information icon Additional information No text entered

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2008. Alloteuthis subulata. European common squid. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 03/09/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2461>