Biodiversity & Conservation

Long finned squid - Loligo forbesi

Loligo forbesii

Image David Nicholson - Loligo forbesii. Image width ca 60 cm.
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Distribution map

Loligo forbesi recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

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Loligo forbesi 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 Steenstrup, 1856
Recent synonyms None
Map icon Recorded Distribution in Britain and Ireland All British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Found over sandy and muddy bottoms.
Text page icon Description A long, slender squid up to 90 cm in length with the fins forming an elongate diamond-shape in dorsal view, comprising two-thirds total body length. The tentacle club has median suckers only slightly larger than those on edges. The colour varies but pink, red and brown predominate. The shell has been reduced to a thin, internal horny pen.
Identifying features
  • Mantle long, moderately slender, cylindrical.
  • Fins rhomboid, their length three quarters that of mantle, their posterior borders slightly concave.
  • Tentacle club with median suckers only slightly larger than those on edges.
  • Colour - variable but pink, red and brown predominate.
Additional information icon Additional information Also commonly known as the veined squid.

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2006. Loligo forbesi. Long finned 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=3717>