Atlantic Brief Squid (MatBio: MOLLUSKS - Matanzas Biodiversity)

Atlantic Brief Squid

Lolliguncula brevis

Summary ⁶

Lolliguncula brevis, or the Atlantic brief squid, is a small species of squid in the Loliginidae family. It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean.

Characteristics ⁷

Mantle

Mantle stout, bluntly rounded posteriorly, widest in mid-portion.

Fins

Fins short (50 - 55 % ML), broad, wider than long (fin width 75% ML), very rounded.

Arms

Modified portion of hectocotylized (left ventral) arm occupies distal third of arm and extends to arm tip; about 24 suckers of dorsal row modified, the proximal 1 to 3 being greatly reduced in diameter, the remaining pedicels distally are greatly enlarged into long, slightly flattened papillae that gradually diminish in size distally; no large, puffy, glandular enlargement of basal area of arm between sucker series.

Color: dark reddish brown to brownish yellow with chromatophores over nearly entire animal; chromatophores most dense on ventral surface of mantle and head, except in very large specimens, in which the opposite occurs.