''Todaropsis'' is a species of short finned

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 family

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 ...

. It is the only

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 ...

in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

subfamily Todaropsinae. The genus ''Todaropsis'' is also monotypic, containing the single species ''Todaropsis eblanae'', also known as the lesser flying squid.

Description

''Todaropsis eblanae'' is a relatively small-sized squid between in length with a large, broad head.Emily Wilson 2006. Todaropsis eblanae. Lesser flying squid.

Marine Life Information Network The Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN) is an information system for marine biodiversity for Great Britain and Ireland. MarLIN was established in 1998 by the Marine Biological Association The Marine Biological Association of the United ...

: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme n-line Plymouth:

Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom (MBA) is a learned society with a scientific laboratory that undertakes research in marine biology. The organisation was founded in 1884 and has been based in Plymouth since the Citadel Hil ...

. The males grow to a maximum

mantle length Cephalopods, which include squids and octopuses, vary enormously in size. The smallest are only about long and weigh less than at maturity, while the giant squid can exceed in length and the colossal squid weighs close to half a tonne (), makin ...

of 16.0 cm and the females to a maximum mantle length of . This species possesses a terminal fin which is broadly

rhomboidal Traditionally, in two-dimensional geometry, a rhomboid is a parallelogram in which adjacent sides are of unequal lengths and angles are non-right angled. The terms "rhomboid" and "parallelogram" are often erroneously conflated with each oth ...

, wider than it is long and posteriorly rounded. Its arms are stout, more than twice the length of head, and the

tentacle 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 ...

club is slim, with four rows of suckers, not extending away from the tips on to the stalk.

Habitat

This species is associated with muddy substrates.

Biology

A total of 21 specimens were examined from examples caught in Galicia and different prey items which fell into three distinct types were found to be taken as prey by ''Todaropis eblanae'' these were

bony fish Osteichthyes ( ; ), also known as osteichthyans or commonly referred to as the bony fish, is a Biodiversity, diverse clade of vertebrate animals that have endoskeletons primarily composed of bone tissue. They can be contrasted with the Chondricht ...

crustaceans Crustaceans (from Latin meaning: "those with shells" or "crusted ones") are invertebrate animals that constitute one group of Arthropod, arthropods that are traditionally a part of the subphylum Crustacea (), a large, diverse group of mainly aquat ...

and other

cephalopods 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 ...

. The diet was found to be dominated by

blue whiting The blue whiting (''Micromesistius poutassou'') one of the two species in the genus '' Micromesistius'' in the order of Gadiformes, which also contains cod, haddock, whiting, and pollock. It is common in the northeast Atlantic Ocean from Morocco ...

''Micromesistius poutassou'', which was found to make up 43% of the prey taken. In Irish Waters Mueller's Pearlside (''

Maurolicus muelleri ''Maurolicus muelleri'', commonly referred to as Mueller's pearlside, Mueller's bristle-mouth fish (not to be confused with the Gonostomatidae), or the silvery lightfish (not to be confused with the Phosichthyidae), is a marine hatchetfish in the ...

''), a small

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 ...

fish, is a particularly important prey item of ''Todaropsis eblanae'' being found in and 34.7% of stomachs examined with prey remains. In northern waters ''Todaropsis eblanae'' generally mate and spawn in the summer and early autumn months, i.e. from June through to November. Hatching occurs in late autumn through to the early spring, i.e. from October up until March, producing juveniles in the first half of the year.

Distribution

Found in the eastern coastal waters of the North Atlantic and South Atlantic from

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

to the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, and the Indian Ocean from the along the coasts of southern Africa,

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

and the

Mascarenes The Mascarene Islands (, ) or Mascarenes or Mascarenhas Archipelago is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar consisting of islands belonging to the Republic of Mauritius as well as the French department of Réunion. Their na ...

north to the

Timor Sea The Timor Sea (, , or ) is a relatively shallow sea in the Indian Ocean bounded to the north by the island of Timor with Timor-Leste to the north, Indonesia to the northwest, Arafura Sea to the east, and to the south by Australia. The Sunda Tr ...

, and then along the western and south-eastern coasts of Australia.

Fisheries

This squid is one of the most abundant cephalopods in the

Celtic Sea The Celtic Sea is the area of the Atlantic Ocean off the southern coast of Ireland bounded to the north by St George's Channel, Saint George's Channel; other limits include the Bristol Channel, the English Channel, and the Bay of Biscay, as wel ...

, even so it is usually caught as a bycatch by trawlers fishing for other species.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1863218 Ommastrephidae Molluscs of the Atlantic Ocean Molluscs of the Indian Ocean Molluscs of the Pacific Ocean Marine molluscs of Europe Cephalopods of Europe Gliding animals Cephalopods described in 1841