Stout bobtail (Rossia macrosoma)

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

Summary

Description

Rossia macrosoma is a small cephalopod of up to 6 cm in length. The body is ovoid with short rounded fins. The dorsal mantle edge is not fused to the head, but instead has a continuous, well-marked lip.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Found mostly on southern coasts of Britain.

Global distribution

Eastern Atlantic; North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, West Africa, Morocco.

Habitat

Found over sandy to muddy bottoms.

Depth range

0-600m

Identifying features

  • Dorsal mantle border not fused to head.
  • Tentacular clubs with more than 8 subequal suckers, all much smaller than arm suckers, in transverse rows.

Additional information

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Listed by

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Further information sources

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Bibliography

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

  2. Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 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.]

  3. 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.

  4. 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. Avaliable: http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/ac479e/ac479e00.htm

  5. von Boletzky, S. & von Boletzky, M.V., 1973. Observations on the embryonic and early post-embryonic development of Rossia macrosoma (Mollusca, Cephalopoda). Helgolander Wissenschaftliche Meeresuntersuchungen, 25, 135-161.

Datasets

  1. Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25.

  2. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2018. Mollusc (marine) data for Great Britain and Ireland - restricted access. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/4bsawx accessed via GBIF.org on 2018-09-25.

  3. Conchological Society of Great Britain & Ireland, 2023. Mollusc (marine) records for Great Britain and Ireland. Occurrence dataset: https://doi.org/10.15468/aurwcz accessed via GBIF.org on 2024-09-27.

  4. Kent Wildlife Trust, 2018. Kent Wildlife Trust Shoresearch Intertidal Survey 2004 onwards. Occurrence dataset: https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/ accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01.

  5. NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.

  6. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-02

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 2008. Rossia macrosoma Stout bobtail. In Tyler-Walters H. and Hiscock K. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 02-05-2025]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1109

Last Updated: 17/04/2008