Description: A strong, muscular, oceanic flying squid. Mantle cylindrical or conical fins terminal, transversely rhomboidal or heart-shaped. Large head and eyes. Strong arms will well-developed protective membranes and swimming keels. Funnel groove with foveola with 5-9 longitudinal folds and 3-5 side pockets. Funnel-locking cartilage with 2 deep grooves joined to each other forming an inverted-T shape. The ventral membranes or arms III are very wide and form a large triangular membranous lobe in adult females. Small yellow subcutaneous photophores embedded in the mantle, head and ventral arms. A long, wide, silvery or golden strip extends along the ventral midline from just posterior to the mantle opening to the level of the anterior edge of the fins.
Global Distribution: Circumglobal in subtropical and temperate oceanic waters. View Map
BIOLOGICAL FEATURES
Size: Maximum mantle length 800 - 900 mm (females); 400 - 420 mm (males); maximum body weight 20 - 25 kg (females); 2 - 2.2 kg (males). Usually males are smaller due to earlier maturation and consequence decrease in somatic growth.
Age: The life span of males and middle-sized females is 1 year; the life span of large-sized females is unknown.
Weight length rel.:
Growth type:
von Bertallanfy growth parameters:
Reproduction: In the North Atlantic, the spawning area of this species is in subtropical waters south of 45ºN - 50ºN. Spawning occurs throughout the year, with some seasonal activity from spring to autumn. Females are intermittent, multibatch spawners; after spawning they continue to feed and grow. Mass mating occurs in surface waters at night.
Maturity: In the North Atlantic, males start to mature at 270 - 300 mm mantle length; 100% maturity at 320 mm. There are two sizes at maturity for females: the middle-sized group matures at 360 - 600 mm mantle length; the large-sized group at greater than 650 - 700 mm mantle length.
Behavioural ecology: A powerful, muscular squid that swims at high speed. Juveniles up to 120 - 160 mm mantle length are able to fly for short periods, bursting from the surface when attacked by a predator and gliding in the air for some meters. Forms schools of similar-sized squid, sometimes with other species.
Population structure & migrations: There are three distinct populations in this very widely distributed species: the North Atlantic population, the Southern Hemisphere conspecific group, and the North Pacific population.
ECOLOGICAL FEATURES
Depth range: SeaLifeBase: 0 - 1500 m
Habitat: Oceanic; benthopelagic, but occurs near the surface at night.
Feeding habits: An active predator. Feeds on fish (mainly myctophids and juveniles of predatory fishes), other squid, and pelagic crustaceans.
Trophic level:
FISHERIES
Commercial interest: Minor commercial species. Often used as bait in the black scabbardfish longline fishery.
Conservation status: Least concern.
Nutritional information & food safety:
Proximate composition per 100 g:
protein 21.8 g (43.6% DRV)
fat 0.504 g (0.7% DRV)
carbohydrate 2.3 g (0.9%)
REFERENCES
Direcção Regional de Pescas, Madeira.
Fu X.Y., Xue C.H., Miao B.C., Li Z.J., Zhang Y.Q., Wang Q. (2007). Effect of processing steps on the physico-chemical properties of dried-seasoned squid. Food chemistry, 103(2): 287-294.
IUCN (2014). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.1. www.iucnredlist.org
Martins R., Ferreira C. (1995). Line fishing for black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) and other deep water species in the eastern mid Atlantic to the north of Madeira. In A.G. Hopper, ed., Deep-Water Fisheries of the North Atlantic Oceanic Slope, pp. 323-335.
Roper C.F.E., Nigmatulin C., Jereb P. (2010). Family Ommastrephidae. In Jereb P., Roper C.F.E., eds. Cephalopods of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes No. 4, Vol. 2, Rome, pp. 269-347.
