Biodiversity & Conservation

Common squid - Loligo vulgaris

Loligo vulgaris

Image - Line drawing of Loligo vulgaris. Image width ca 45 cm.
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Distribution map

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

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Loligo vulgaris 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 Found on all British and Irish coasts.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Has no preference for a particular bottom type, the only requirement seems to be the presence of substrata for the attachment of egg strings during the spawning period.
Text page icon Description Very similar to Loligo forbesii but distinguished immediately by the tentacle club, the median suckers of which are especially large, up to four times diameter of marginal suckers. Loligo vulgaris can be up to 54 cm in length and has a small shield-like part of the body projecting slightly over the head. The internal shell is horny and pen-like. The colour varies and is often pink to white with purple brown mottling dorsally.
Identifying features
  • Mantle long, moderately slender, cylindrical.
  • Fins rhomboid, their length two thirds of mantle length, their posterior border slightly concave.
  • Tentacle club with especially large median suckers, up to four times diameter of marginal suckers.
  • Colour - variable often pink to white with purple brown mottling dorsally.
Additional information icon Additional information Also commonly known as the European squid.

This review can be cited as follows:

Emily Wilson 2008. Loligo vulgaris. Common squid. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 09/02/2010]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=3718>