Common squid (Loligo vulgaris)

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

Summary

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.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

Found on all British and Irish coasts.

Global distribution

Eastern Atlantic; from approximately 20 degrees S to 55 degrees N; around the British Isles, North Sea; Mediterranean Sea.

Habitat

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.

Depth range

0-500m

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

Also commonly known as the European squid.

Listed by

- none -

Further information sources

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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. Boyle, P.R. (ed.), 1983. Cephalopod Life Cycles, vol 1. Species Accounts. London: Academic Press Inc. (London) Ltd.

  3. Campbell, A., 1994. Seashores and shallow seas of Britain and Europe. London: Hamlyn.

  4. Guerra, A. & Rocha, F., 1994. The life history of Loligo vulgaris and Loligo forbesi (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) in Galician waters (NW Spain) Special Issue: Fishery Biology of Northeast Atlantic Squid, Fisheries Research, 21, 43-69.

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

  6. 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.]

  7. ICES, 1994. Report of the study group on the life history assessment of Cephalopods. Copenhagen-Denmark ICES, K:7, 32.

  8. 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.

  9. 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

Datasets

  1. 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.

  2. Fenwick, 2018. Aphotomarine. Occurrence dataset http://www.aphotomarine.com/index.html Accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01

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

  4. OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System),  2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-21

Citation

This review can be cited as:

Wilson, E. 2008. Loligo vulgaris Common squid. 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 21-05-2025]. Available from: https://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/1111

Last Updated: 24/04/2008