LOLIGO

Loligo vulgaris (Lamarck, 1798)

SPECIES DESCRIPTION

The body of the European squid is long, moderately slender and cylindrical. The fins are rhomboid and their length is two thirds of the mantle length. The posterior border is slightly concave. The head is relatively small with big eyes that are covered with a transparent membrane. There are ten arms around the mouth. Eight of them are relatively short, and two are long (tentacles) and are used to catch prey. The fourth left arm of males is a hectocotylus.

The colour of Loligo vulgaris is greyish-transparent or reddish, depending on expansion of the pigmented cells in the skin. On the mantle of the adult males there are small chromatophores. In the internal dorsal side of the mantle there is a supporting structure that is called gladius ( Fisher et al. , 1987 ; Jardas, 1996 ; Relini et al. , 1999 ).

DISTRIBUTION

World:
Loligo vulgaris can be found throughout the Mediterranean Sea and in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the North Sea to the Gulf of Guinea ( Jardas, 1996 ; Relini et al. , 1999 ).

Adriatic Sea:
Grubišić (1982) showed that this species is distributed throughout the Adriatic Sea up to depths of 400 m. It inhabits all strata, but, during the spawning period, it migrates into shallower regions. Generally, European squid are most frequent at depths between 40 and 150 m. Gamulin-Brida and Ilijanić (1972) reported that this species lives in coastal regions, most often between 50 and 100 m deep. Based on research in the south Adriatic, Mandić, 1984 found that European squid resided in the coastal region up to a depth of 100 m. Nevertheless, it can be found up to 150 m, but rarely and in small quantities. In the Pomo/Jabuka Pit it was fished at all stations ( Županović and Jardas, 1989 ). The species is present in the entire Adriatic. It is most frequent up to depths of 100 m ( Mandić and Stjepčević, 1981 ; Flamigni and Giovanardi, 1984 ; Soro and Piccinetti Manfrin, 1989 ; Županović and Jardas, 1989 ; Pastorelli et al. , 1995 ; Casali et al. , 1998 ; Krstulović Šifner, 2000 ).

Habitat:
It is a neritic, semi-demersal species, known for distinct horizontal and vertical migrations, depending on the environment. In the Adriatic, L. vulgaris occurs above different types of sea sediments; from sandy through sandy-muddy, to the muddy bottoms Gamulin-Brida and Ilijanić 1972 ; Casali et al. , 1998 ).

BIOLOGICAL DATA

Size:
European squid can grow up to 30 to 40 cm of the mantle length, but their usual size is 15 to 25 cm. The males are generally bigger than the females and they grow faster ( Relini et al. , 1999 ).

 


Home - Last Dive - Best of - Links - Trips - On The Earth
Claude marneff| Créé avec JAlbum & Chameleon |