The Antarctic flying squid (''Todarodes filippovae'') is a species of

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 ...

from the subfamily

Todarodinae Todarodinae is a squid subfamily in the family Ommastrephidae. Genera * Genus ''Martialia'' ** ''Martialia hyadesii'', sevenstar flying squid * Genus ''Nototodarus'' ** ''Nototodarus gouldi'', Gould's flying squid ** ''Nototodarus hawaiiensis'', ...

of 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 ...

Ommastrephidae Ommastrephidae is a family (biology), family of squid containing three subfamilies, 11 genus, genera, and over 20 species. They are widely distributed globally and are extensively fished for food. One species, ''Todarodes pacificus'', comprised a ...

, a family of pelagic squid from the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * A socio-political or established or existing order, e.g. World order, Ancien Regime, Pax Britannica * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood ...

Oegopsida Oegopsida is one of the four orders of squid in the superorder Decapodiformes, in the class Cephalopoda. Together with the Myopsina, it was formerly considered to be a suborder of the order Teuthida, in which case it was known as Oegopsina. Thi ...

. It has a circumglobal distribution in the seas around the lower latitudes of the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

Description

The Antarctic flying squid is a large species of oceanic pelagic squid which grows to a mantle length of greater than 52 cm in females and 40 cm in males. It has a long, narrow and muscular mantle, which has a width which is roughly a quarter of its length, tapering posteriorly to a pointed tail. The fins are arrowhead shaped and both their length and width are roughly equivalent to half that of the mantle. The basal suckers on the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

have around 10 teeth but there are no alternating small teeth. The fourth right arm has a

hectocotylised A hectocotylus (: hectocotyli) is one of the cephalopod limb, 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 ma ...

distal portion which takes up one fifth to one third of the arm's length. This portion has the suckers transformed to papillae and tubercles, a ventral protective membrane and an expansive development of

trabeculae A trabecula (: trabeculae, from Latin for 'small beam') is a small, often microscopic, tissue element in the form of a small beam, strut or rod that supports or anchors a framework of parts within a body or organ. A trabecula generally has a ...

. The robust and large

tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

have almost their entire length taken up by the

tentacular club All cephalopods possess flexible limbs extending from their heads and surrounding their cephalopod beak, beaks. These appendages, which function as muscular hydrostats, have been variously termed arms, legs or tentacles. Description In ...

s which have 12-14 transverse rows of suckers on the

manus Manus may refer to: Relating to locations around New Guinea *Manus Island, a Papua New Guinean island in the Admiralty Archipelago ** Manus languages, languages spoken on Manus and islands close by ** Manus Regional Processing Centre, an offshore ...

, the largest of which has 7-13 teeth on its ring and a diameter equal to 2.7-4.5% of the mantle length. The tentacle also has two pairs of carpal suckers.

Distribution

The Antarctic flying squid has a circumglobal distribution in the Southern Ocean south of 35°S and it is common in the waters of the subtropical convergence zone. It has been found as far north as Peru but these are thought to have drifted north on the

Humboldt Current The Humboldt Current, also called the Peru Current, is a cold, low-salinity ocean current that flows north along the western coast of South America.Montecino, Vivian, and Carina B. Lange. "The Humboldt Current System: Ecosystem components and pro ...

Habitat and biology

The Antarctic flying squid occurs over the continental slope and oceanic waters with depths between 0 and 1,200m. It has been caught from near to the bottom, through the water column to near the surface at night. This species is associated with faster currents and with a wide variation in temperature from cold Antarctic water 1t 3-3.6 °C to waters as warm as 24 °C. The spawning season occurs between December and August when mature males form a greater proportion of the population off southern New South Wales, this suggests that mating and spawning most likely takes place towards the northernmost limits of the species distribution in this area.

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 are obvious in males which have attained a mantle length of 260 mm while those at 320 mm mantle length bear formed spermatophores. The smallest mature female recorded having eggs in the

oviduct The oviduct in vertebrates is the passageway from an ovary. In human females, this is more usually known as the fallopian tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, or will dege ...

was measured with a mantle length of 380 mm. Studies in South African waters indicate a similarly extended spawning period running from February to August. In addition, data gathered on specimens sampled from stomachs of commercially whaled

sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...

s off

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

suggest that Antarctic flying squid breed off the southeast African coast. Like most members of the Ommastrephidae growth is rapid and the life cycle is completed in one year, although little is known about the early life stages of this species, with the females growing faster than the males. Both this species and the

Angolan flying squid The Angolan flying squid (''Todarodes angolensis'') is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae, part of the family Ommastrephidae. Due to taxonomic confusion with the Antarctic flying squid the exact limits of its distribution are unc ...

grow faster in cooler water than they do in warmer temperatures. This species preys on fishes, crustaceans and cephalopods. Smaller squids have crustaceans as the predominant element in their diet while larger squid, larger than 200mm mantle length, feed mainly on cephalopods. This species is also preyed upon by several fish species, sea birds and marine mammals, up to the size of sperm whales. The adult Antarctic flying squids may bear large

parasite Parasitism is a Symbiosis, close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives (at least some of the time) on or inside another organism, the Host (biology), host, causing it some harm, and is Adaptation, adapted str ...

loads of encysted

nematode The nematodes ( or ; ; ), roundworms or eelworms constitute the phylum Nematoda. Species in the phylum inhabit a broad range of environments. Most species are free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but many are parasitic. Parasitic worms (h ...

s and

cestode Cestoda is a class of parasitic worms in the flatworm phylum (Platyhelminthes). Most of the species—and the best-known—are those in the subclass Eucestoda; they are ribbon-like worms as adults, commonly known as tapeworms. Their bodies co ...

s in their mantle tissue.

Fisheries

This species has been targeted by commercial fisheries in the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

and the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

and is currently taken as a bycatch in fisheries pursuing other species. Its abundance and muscular flesh suggest it could be a viable commercial species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2463225 Todarodes Cephalopods described in 1975 Molluscs of the Southern Ocean