''Abralia'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

comprising around 20 species from the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Enoploteuthidae Enoploteuthidae is a family of squid comprising approximately 40 species in four genera. Most species have a mantle length ranging from . Hooks are present on all arms and tentacles. The family is best known for the large array of photopho ...

. They are small squid which can be found in the

epipelagic The photic zone (or euphotic zone, epipelagic zone, or sunlight zone) is the uppermost layer of a body of water that receives sunlight, allowing phytoplankton to perform photosynthesis. It undergoes a series of physical, chemical, and biological ...

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek language, Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light ...

zones while some species are found in water with shallow substrates on steep slopes on the boundary of the mesopelagic zone. They are distinguished from other members of the Enoploteuthidae by not normally having large, black

photophore A photophore is a specialized anatomical structure found in a variety of organisms that emits light through the process of boluminescence. This light may be produced endogenously by the organism itself (symbiotic) or generated through a mut ...

s at the tips of arms IV, although if these are present they are not covered in black chromatophores, and having fins which extend beyond their tail. The photophores of the

integument In biology, an integument is the tissue surrounding an organism's body or an organ within, such as skin, a husk, Exoskeleton, shell, germ or Peel (fruit), rind. Etymology The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a coverin ...

are characteristicand are found in the three types . "Lensed" photophores are a blue color with a white ring, "simple" photophores are small and violet-colored and the "complex" photophores are surrounded by small green satellite points and have a green centre. The complex photophores will frequently appear to be blue depending on their physiological state. The integument also has small black

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 which look like dots. They have 5–12 variably sized photophores on the eye. Either the right or left arm IV is hectocotylized. ''Abralia'' is the most speciose genus in the Enoploteuthidae and is normally divided in to six

subgenera In biology, a subgenus ( subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus. In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between the ge ...

, however, recent studies suggest that these may not form natural groupings. They have worldwide distribution in tropical and subtropical seas. They spend the day at depths below 600m and at night they move to less than 200m in depth. These quid are important prey species for large fish such as

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

and

billfish The billfish are a group (Xiphioidea) of saltwater fish, saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed beak, bills (rostrum (anatomy), rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and m ...

as well as

toothed whales The toothed whales (also called odontocetes, systematic name Odontoceti) are a parvorder of cetaceans that includes dolphins, porpoises, and all other whales with teeth, such as beaked whales and the sperm whales. 73 species of toothed whales are ...

Species

The following species are currently recognised and are divided into six subgenera: *Subgenus ''

Abralia ''Abralia'' is a genus of squid comprising around 20 species from the Family (biology), family Enoploteuthidae. They are small squid which can be found in the epipelagic to mesopelagic zones while some species are found in water with shallow sub ...

'' Gray, 1849 **'' Abralia armata'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) **'' Abralia multihamata'' Sasaki, 1929 **'' Abralia renschi'' Grimpe, 1931 **'' Abralia spaercki'' Grimpe, 1931 **'' Abralia steindachneri'' Weindl, 1912 *Subgenus '' Asteroteuthis''

Pfeffer Pfeffer is a German language, German surname meaning "Black pepper, pepper" and may refer to: * Anna Pfeffer (born 1946), Hungarian Olympic medalist sprint canoer * Anshel Pfeffer, British journalist * Anton Pfeffer (born 1965), Austrian football ...

, 1908 **''

Abralia veranyi ''Abralia veranyi'' is a species of squid in the family Enoploteuthidae. Common names include the eye-flash squid, Verany's enope squid and the midwater squid. It is found in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It undergoes a daily ver ...

'' Rüppell, 1844, eye-flash squid or Verany's enope squid *Subgenus '' Astrabralia'' Nesis, 1987 **'' Abralia astrolineata''

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples of berries in the cul ...

, 1914 **'' Abralia astrosticta'' Berry, 1909 *Subgenus '' Enigmoteuthis''

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

, 1973 **'' Abralia dubia'' Adam, 1960 **'' Abralia fasciolata'' Tsuchiya, 1991 **'' Abralia marisarabica'' Okutani, 1983 *Subgenus '' Heterabralia'' Tsuchiya & Okutani, 1988 **'' Abralia andamanica'' Goodrich, 1896 **'' Abralia heminuchalis'' Burgess, 1992 **'' Abralia robsoni'' Grimpe, 1931 **'' Abralia siedleckyi'' Lipinski, 1983 **'' Abralia trigonura'' Berry, 1913 *Subgenus '' Pygmabralia'' Nesis, 1987 **'' Abralia grimpei''

Voss Voss () is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality and a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative center of the municipality is the village of Vossevangen. Other villages inclu ...

, 1959 **'' Abralia omiae'' Hidaka & Kubodera, 2000Hidaka, K. and T. Kubodera. (2000)
Squids of the genus ''Abralia'' (Cephalopoda: Enoploteuthidae) from the western tropical Pacific with a description of ''Abralia omiae'', a new species.
''Bulletin of Marine Science'' 66(2) 417-43. **'' Abralia redfieldi'' Voss, 1955 **''

Abralia similis ''Abralia similis'' is a species of enoploteuthid cephalopod that occurs in equatorial and subtropical Pacific Ocean waters south of the Kuroshio Current, and is known from the waters of Papua New Guinea, Japan, Kiribati and Tonga. This species ...

'' Okutani & Tsuchiya, 1987

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3203049 Enoploteuthidae Cephalopod genera Bioluminescent molluscs Taxa named by John Edward Gray Cephalopods described in 1849