''Uroteuthis duvaucelii'', also known as the Indian Ocean Squid or Indian Squid, is an Indo-West Pacific species of squid with a wide range throughout the Indian Ocean to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and the

South China Sea The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phi ...

, and is also present in the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. ''U. duvaucelii'' is found at depths between 3 m and 170 m and feeds on fishes, crustaceans and other squids. Individuals have mantles moderately long (commonly up to 150 mm) and slender with broad fins approximately 50% of the mantle length. ''U. duvaucelii'' represents a significant species in commercial fisheries throughout its range: e.g. catches of squid in the Philippines

commercial fishery Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often ...

are 90% ''U. duvaucelii''.

Life cycle

During brooding fertilized embryos hatch into a planktonic stage migrating into the upper layers of the water column. As they grow larger they take up a benthic existence as adults, with males being slightly larger than females. Spawning occurs throughout the year but principally in spring and autumn. It is initiated by males performing various displays to attract potential females. During copulation, a male grasps the female and inserts the

hectocotylus A hectocotylus (plural: ''hectocotyli'') is one of the 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 may use i ...

into the female's mantle cavity where fertilization usually occurs. Adult males usually then die shortly after spawning, whilst females survive for a short while until after brooding. The life cycle of ''U. duvaucelii'' lasts around 1 year although this can vary due to environmental factors.

References

External links

Tree of Life web project: ''Uroteuthis''
Squid Molluscs described in 1945 {{squid-stub