''Lolliguncula brevis'', or the Atlantic brief squid, is a small

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

in the

Loliginidae Loliginidae, commonly known as pencil squids, is an aquatic family of squid classified in the order Myopsida. Taxonomy The family Loliginidae was formerly classified in the order Teuthida. Taxonomic list The classification below (includi ...

family. It is found in shallow parts of the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

.Tree of Life Web Project
/ref>

Distribution

The Atlantic brief squid occurs most frequently in shallow waters along the eastern seaboard of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

as far north as

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

. It has also been found in

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, the

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and

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Description

left, ''Lolliguncula brevis'' The female Atlantic brief squid is about 11 cm long and the male 9 cm. The maximum mantle length recorded was 12 cm. The basic colour is dark reddish-brown to yellow-brown and there are many

chromatophore Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopod A cephalopod is any member o ...

s on the upper surface which enable the squid to change colour. The mantle is widest in the middle and tapers to a rounded point at the back. The fins are wider than they are long, rounded and about half the length of the mantle. The mantle has thick muscular walls and a large water-filled cavity and is separated from the head by a collar. The head has two large eyes, the structure of which is very similar to vertebrate eyes. There is a funnel underneath the head which is used in locomotion. There are five pairs of appendages. Numbers 1, 2, 3 and 5 are short tapering arms with two rows of suckers. The left 5th appendage of males is modified to form a

hectocotylus A hectocotylus (: hectocotyli) is one of the arms of male cephalopods that is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. Structurally, hectocotyli are muscular hydrostats. Depending on the species, the male may use it merel ...

arm which is used to transfer

spermatophore A spermatophore, from Ancient Greek σπέρμα (''spérma''), meaning "seed", and -φόρος (''-phóros''), meaning "bearing", or sperm ampulla is a capsule or mass containing spermatozoa created by males of various animal species, especiall ...

s into the female reproductive organ. The other pair of appendages are contractile tentacles and are much longer than the arms. These have clubs with four rows of suckers at the distal end and are used for capturing food which is then transferred to the arms. The posterior end of the female mantle is occupied by a pair of white

nidamental gland Nidamental glands are internal organs found in some elasmobranchs and certain molluscs, including cephalopods (specifically Decapodiformes and nautiluses) and gastropod Gastropods (), commonly known as slugs and snails, belong to a large Ta ...

s which secrete the material from which the egg capsule is formed.Invertebrate Anatomy OnLine

Biology

This species is found in warm shallow waters to a depth of 20m, often at the mouths of rivers where it is known to tolerate low

salinity Salinity () is the saltiness or amount of salt (chemistry), salt dissolved in a body of water, called saline water (see also soil salinity). It is usually measured in g/L or g/kg (grams of salt per liter/kilogram of water; the latter is dimensio ...

levels, down to about half normal marine salinity (17.9‰), which makes it one of the most

euryhaline Euryhaline organisms are able to adapt to a wide range of salinities. An example of a euryhaline fish is the short-finned molly, '' Poecilia sphenops'', which can live in fresh water, brackish water, or salt water. The green crab ('' Carcinus m ...

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan Taxonomic rank, class Cephalopoda (Greek language, Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral symm ...

mollusks Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The num ...

. However, only slightly lower salinities (16.5‰) kills it in about 48 hours. It eats small fish and crustaceans. In order to move, water inside the mantle cavity is expelled through the funnel by muscular contraction of the mantle walls. To catch fast moving

prey Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not ki ...

, the contraction is vigorous, sending a jet of water through the funnel which is directed backwards. To escape a

predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...

, the funnel is directed forwards and the squid shoots backwards at great speed. It can also emit a cloud of

ink Ink is a gel, sol, or solution that contains at least one colorant, such as a dye or pigment, and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing or writing with a pen, brush, reed pen, or quill. ...

to distract the predator.Chesapeake Bay: Brief Squid
/ref> Eggs are deposited in a gelatinous capsule attached to the sea bed. The large-yolked eggs hatch into fully formed miniature versions of the parent squid.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3007950 Loliginidae Cephalopods described in 1823