''Loliolus Japonica'', the Japanese squid, is a species of squid from the family

Loliginidae Loliginidae, commonly known as pencil squids, is an aquatic family of squid classified in the order Myopsida. Taxonomy The family Loliginidae was formerly classified in the order Teuthida. Taxonomic list The classification below follows ...

. As the name suggests, it lives around Japan, but has also been found around

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

and China. They are

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...

, living down in the ocean. The Japanese squid has light tan skin, with speckles all over its mantle and

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 mainl ...

. It has a particularly large mantle, and an unusually wide fin along the mantle as well. It has dark, black eyes. Females are larger than males. The maximum length a male can get is 12 centimeters. Loliolus japonica are nonbioluminescent species which means that they do not emit light. A male will perform various rituals to get a female's attention, and after that they will mate. Embryos will hatch into a planktonic stage for a fair amount of time, but will then turn into adults. Males and females die after spawning.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3813707 Loliginidae Molluscs of Japan Invertebrates of Vietnam Invertebrates of China