Ommastrephidae is a

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

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 t ...

containing three

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, 11

genera 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 nomenclat ...

, and over 20

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

. They are widely distributed globally and are extensively fished for food. One species, ''

Todarodes pacificus The Japanese flying squid, Japanese common squid or Pacific flying squid, scientific name ''Todarodes pacificus'', is a squid of the family Ommastrephidae. This animal lives in the northern Pacific Ocean, in the area surrounding Japan, along th ...

'', comprises around half of the world's

cephalopod A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda (Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head ...

catch annually. Some members of Ommastrephidae ( volplaning species) are known to have the ability to glide out of water, earning them the common name of "flying squid".

Description

Funnel_grooves_of_ommastrephid_subfamilies

The ommastrephids are small to large squids, with mantle lengths ranging from that of the glass squid ('' Hyaloteuthis pelagica'') at ,Nesis, K. N. 1982. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385,ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp. to the Humboldt squid (''

Dosidicus gigas The Humboldt squid (''Dosidicus gigas''), also known as jumbo squid or jumbo flying squid (EN), and Pota in Peru or Jibia in Chile (ES) is a large, predatory squid living in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the Monotypic taxon, only known species ...

'') at .Glaubrecht, M. & M.A. Salcedo-Vargas 2004. The Humboldt squid ''Dosidicus gigas'' (Orbigny, 1835): History of the Berlin specimen, with a reappraisal of other (bathy-)pelagic gigantic cephalopods (Mollusca, Ommastrephidae, Architeuthidae). ''Zoosystematics and Evolution'' 80(1): 53–69. The mantle narrows towards the back and possesses large terminal fins. The family is characterized by an inverted T-shaped funnel locking cartilage. They have an easily recognizable, slender, feather-shaped

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

with a hollow cone structure (the primary conus). Light organs (

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, ...

s) are present along the head and mantle of members of the subfamily Ommastrephinae. Illex illecebrosus gladius

Ommastrephid

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

have a double series of suckers. The enlarged tips (the clubs) of the tentacles have four rows of suckers, except in the genus '' Illex'', which has eight. Hooks are absent. One of the ventral arms develops into a secondary sexual organ (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 ...

) in males. All ommastrephids are active

predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

s. Their arms and tentacles bear sharp teeth and are used to grasp and bring prey to their beaked mouths. They are very strong swimmers, and some species are known to glide out of water to escape predators. Ommastrephid

paralarva Paralarvae (singular: ''paralarva'') are young cephalopods in the planktonic stages between hatchling and subadult. This stage differs from the larval stage of animals that undergo true metamorphosis. Paralarvae have been observed only in membe ...

e are distinctive for having fused tentacles, looking like a single "proboscis". It gradually splits into two as the paralarvae grow becoming completely separated once they reach mantle lengths of .

Distribution and habitat

Ommastrephids usually occur in

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 wa ...

waters, but can also be found in

neritic The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

habitats. They are found worldwide.

Taxonomy

Ommastrephes bartramii (Neon flying squid), Northern Hawaiian waters

Ommastrephidae was first established by the

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

Japetus Steenstrup Johannes Japetus Smith Steenstrup FRS(For) HFRSE (8 March 1813 – 20 June 1897) was a Danish zoologist, biologist, and professor. Life Born in Vang, Thy on 8 March 1813, he held a lectorate in mineralogy in Sorø until 1845 when he became a ...

in 1857. It is classified under the

suborder Order ( la, ordo) is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and ...

Oegopsina Oegopsida is one of the two orders of squid in the superorder Decapodiformes, in the class Cephalopoda. Together with the Myopsina, it was formerly considered to be a suborder of the order Teuthida, in which case it was known as Oegopsina. T ...

of the

order Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

Teuthida (squids). It is divided into three

- Illicinae, Ommastrephinae, and

Todarodinae Todarodinae is a squid subfamily in the family Ommastrephidae. Genera * Genus '' Martialia'' ** ''Martialia hyadesii'', sevenstar flying squid * Genus ''Nototodarus'' ** '' Nototodarus gouldi'', Gould's flying squid ** '' Nototodarus hawaiiensi ...

; further subdivided into 11 genera and more than 20 species. These subfamilies, genera, species, and subspecies are classified under Ommastrephidae: *Family Ommastrephidae :*Subfamily Illicinae ::*Genus '' Illex'' :::* ''

Illex argentinus ''Illex argentinus'', commonly known as the Argentine shortfin squid is a species of squid in the family Ommastrephidae Ommastrephidae is a family of squid containing three subfamilies, 11 genera, and over 20 species. They are widely distrib ...

'', Argentine shortfin squid :::* '' Illex coindetii'', southern shortfin squid :::* ''

Illex illecebrosus ''Illex illecebrosus'', commonly known as the northern shortfin squid, is a species of Neritic zone, neritic squids in the Family (biology), family Ommastrephidae. Squids of the genus Illex account for 65% of the world’s cephalopod captures. Il ...

'', northern shortfin squid :::* '' Illex oxygonius'', sharptail shortfin squid :*Subfamily Ommastrephinae ::*Genus ''

Dosidicus The Humboldt squid (''Dosidicus gigas''), also known as jumbo squid or jumbo flying squid (EN), and Pota in Peru or Jibia in Chile (ES) is a large, predatory squid living in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It is the only known species of the genus '' ...

'' :::* ''

'', Humboldt squid, jumbo flying squid or jumbo squid ::*Genus '' Eucleoteuthis'' :::* '' Eucleoteuthis luminosa'', striped squid or luminous flying squid ::*Genus '' Hyaloteuthis'' :::* '' Hyaloteuthis pelagica'', glassy flying squid ::*Genus ''

Ommastrephes Ommastrephinae is a subfamily of squids under the family Ommastrephidae. Description Ommastrephinae includes the largest species of squids belonging to the family Ommastrephidae, Humboldt squid ('' Dosidicus gigas'') which can grow to in ma ...

'' :::* ''

Ommastrephes bartramii The neon flying squid (''Ommastrephes bartramii''), sometimes called the red flying squid, akaika, and red squid is a species of large flying squid in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in subtropical and temperate oceanic waters globa ...

'', neon flying squid or red flying squid ::*Genus '' Ornithoteuthis'' :::* '' Ornithoteuthis antillarum'', Atlantic bird squid :::* '' Ornithoteuthis volatilis'', shiny bird squid ::*Genus '' Sthenoteuthis'' :::* '' Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis'', purpleback squid or purpleback flying squid :::* '' Sthenoteuthis pteropus'', orangeback squid or orangeback flying squid :*Subfamily

::*Genus '' Martialia'' :::*''

Martialia hyadesii ''Martialia hyadesii'' is a species of flying squid commonly known as the sevenstar flying squid. Distribution ''M. hyadesii'' occurs in epipelagic and mesopelagic waters of the Southern Ocean. Its range may be circumpolar with a Sub-Antarctic ...

'', sevenstar flying squid ::*Genus ''

Nototodarus ''Nototodarus'' is a genus of squid. Example species in this genus include '' Nototodarus sloanii'', a species sought for human food; in the process of harvesting ''N. sloanii'' Australian sea lions are frequently killed, since that marine mammal ...

'' :::* '' Nototodarus gouldi'', Gould's flying squid :::* '' Nototodarus hawaiiensis'', Hawaiian flying squid :::*''

Nototodarus sloanii ''Nototodarus sloanii'' is a species of squid commonly known as the New Zealand arrow squid or Wellington flying squid. It is also known by its Māori name of wheketere. It is a favoured prey species of a number of marine mammals and diving birds ...

'', Wellington flying squid or New Zealand arrow squid ::*Genus ''

Todarodes ''Todarodes'' is a genus of flying squid from the subfamily Todarodinae, of which it is the type genus. The genus contains five species which are partially allopatric but between them their distributions encompass most of the world's oceans a ...

'' :::* ''

Todarodes angolensis The Angolan flying squid (''Todarodes angolensis'') is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae, part of the Family (biology), familyOmmastrephidae. Due to taxonomic confusion with the Antarctic flying squid the exact limits of its distr ...

'', Angola flying squid :::*''

Todarodes filippovae The Antarctic flying squid (''Todarodes filippovae'') is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae of the family Ommastrephidae, a family of pelagic squid from the order Oegopsida. It has a circumglobal distribution in the seas around t ...

'', Antarctic flying squid :::* ''

'', Japanese flying squid or Japanese common squid :::* ''

Todarodes pusillus The little flying squid (''Todarodes pusillus'') is a species of squid, one of the arrow squids of the genus ''Todarodes, in the subfamily ''Todarodinae of the flying squid family Ommastrephidae. It is a small species from the waters around nort ...

'', little flying squid :::* ''

Todarodes sagittatus The European flying squid (''Todarodes sagittatus'') is a species of squid from the continental slope and oceanic waters of the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is the type species of the genus '' Todarodes'', the type genus ...

'', European flying squid ::*Genus '' Todaropsis'' :::* ''

Todaropsis eblanae ''Todaropsis eblanae'', also known as the lesser flying squid, is a species of short finned squid in the monotypic genus '' Todaropsis'' of the family Ommastrephidae. Description A relatively small squid between in length with a large, broad ...

'', lesser flying squid

References

External links

Ommastrephidae discussion forum at TONMO.comTree of Life web project: OmmastrephidaeScientific American: Can a Squid Fly Out of the Water?
{{taxonbar, from=Q1377192 Squid Cephalopod families

Description

Distribution and habitat

Taxonomy

See also

References

External links