''Abralia'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting ...

comprising around 20 species from the

family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...

Enoploteuthidae The Enoploteuthidea are a family of squid comprising approximately 40 species in four genera. Most species have a mantle length ranging from 3–13 cm. Hooks are present on all arms and tentacles. The family is best known for the large ar ...

. They are small squid which can be found in the

epipelagic The photic zone, 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 pro ...

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (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, and begins a ...

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 glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, h ...

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, shell, germ or rind. Etymology The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a covering". In a transferred, or ...

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 cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast, ...

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 (plural: 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 betwee ...

, 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 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 bullet tuna (max le ...

and

billfish The term billfish refers to a group of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than . Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istio ...

as well as toothed whales.

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 ''Abralia armata'' is a species of squid in the family Enoploteuthidae. It is native to waters of Indonesia and the Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng ...

'' (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832) **''

Abralia multihamata ''Abralia multihamata'' is a species of enoploteuthid cephalopod native to the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Specifically, it occurs in the East China Sea, Sea of Japan and Sagami Bay. The taxonomic relationship between ''A. multihamata'' and '' A. s ...

'' Sasaki, 1929 **''

Abralia renschi ''Abralia renschi'' is a species of enoploteuthid cephalopod found in the waters of Sumatra, Java and the Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެ� ...

'' Georg Grimpe, Grimpe, 1931 **''Abralia spaercki'' Grimpe, 1931 **''Abralia steindachneri'' Weindl, 1912 *Subgenus ''Abralia (Asteroteuthis), Asteroteuthis'' Georg Johann Pfeffer, Pfeffer, 1908 **''Abralia veranyi'' Eduard Rüppell, Rüppell, 1844, eye-flash squid or Verany's enope squid *Subgenus ''Abralia (Astrabralia), Astrabralia'' Kir Nesis, Nesis, 1987 **''Abralia astrolineata'' S. Stillman Berry, Berry, 1914 **''Abralia astrosticta'' Berry, 1909 *Subgenus ''Abralia (Enigmoteuthis), Enigmoteuthis'' William Adam (malacologist), Adam, 1973 **''Abralia dubia'' Adam, 1960 **''Abralia fasciolata'' Tsuchiya, 1991 **''Abralia marisarabica'' Okutani, 1983 *Subgenus ''Abralia (Heterabralia), Heterabralia'' Tsuchiya & Okutani, 1988 **''Abralia andamanica'' Edwin Stephen Goodrich, Goodrich, 1896 **''Abralia heminuchalis'' Burgess, 1992 **''Abralia robsoni'' Grimpe, 1931 **''Abralia siedleckyi'' Marek Lipinski, Lipinski, 1983 **''Abralia trigonura'' Berry, 1913 *Subgenus ''Abralia (Pygmabralia), Pygmabralia'' Nesis, 1987 **''Abralia grimpei'' Gilbert L. Voss, Voss, 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'' Okutani & Tsuchiya, 1987

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3203049 Abralia, Cephalopod genera Bioluminescent molluscs Taxa named by John Edward Gray