European common squid (Alloteuthis subulata)

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

Summary

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.

Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland

All British and Irish coasts.

Global distribution

Eastern Atlantic; North Sea and Western Baltic Sea south to the Sahara Banks, extending into the Mediterranean Sea

Habitat

Usually associated with the water column above sandy and hard bottoms.

Depth range

down to 200 m

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

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

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

  4. 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.]

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

  6. 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.

  7. Pierce, G.J., Boyle, P.R., Hastie, L.C. & Shanks, A.M., 1994. Distribution and abundance of the fished population of Loligo forbesii in UK waters: analysis of fishery data. Special Issue: Fishery Biology of Northeast Atlantic Squid, Fisheries Issue, 21, 193-216.

  8. 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, 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

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

  5. 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. Alloteuthis subulata European 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/1113

Last Updated: 24/04/2008