Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | CoL | ITIS | WoRMS

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Benthopelagic; depth range 0 - 500 m (Ref. 275), usually 20 - 250 m (Ref. 275). Temperate; 13°C - 20°C (Ref. 2453), preferred 18°C (Ref. 107945); 60°N - 36°S, 19°W - 37°E

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean: from North Sea and British Isles to southwest Africa and the Mediterranean.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 16.9, range 16 - 23 cm Max length : 64.0 cm ML male/unsexed; (Ref. 417); 32 cm ML (female); max. published weight: 1.5 kg (Ref. 275)

Short description Morphology

Paralarvae: Fins paddle-shaped, broad with short bases, fin much wider than long. Mantle broad with few large dorsal chromatophores and numerous ventral chromatophores. Head squarish with few chromatophores on dorsal surface and 12 chromatophores on ventral surface arranged in 2 cheek patches of 5 posterior to eyes and a pair between the eyes. Ventral arms with 2 aboral chromatophores. Tentacles with 4 aboral chromatophores. Tentacular clubs broad and wider than tentacular stalks. Mantle length at hatching range between mantle length 0.28 and 0.358 cm (Ref. 2489, 2490). Juveniles and adults: Mantle muscular, cylindrical, slender and elongated posteriorly. Wide spots of red chromatophores in mantle and green/blue iridescence in posterior part of mantle. Fins rhomboid with length exceeding 50% of mantle length. Buccal membrane with 15 suckers with chitinous rings on extremity. Male's left ventral arm hectocotylized with length ranging from 15 to 33% of whole arm length. Arms with 2 rows of suckers, sucker rings with 20 teeth, distal ones large and pointed and proximal ones minute or absent. Tentacles not retractile and tentacular clubs with 4 longitudinal rows of suckers in the "manus", which in central rows are larger than marginal ones. Cartilages simple locking (Ref. 275, 1964).

Maximum life span: 1.5 to 2 years in females and 3 to 3.5 years in males (Ref. 2525). Maximum size for male, 64 cm, mantle length from Ref. 2494.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Members of the class Cephalopoda are gonochoric. Male and female adults usually die shortly after spawning and brooding, respectively. Mating behavior: Males perform various displays to attract potential females for copulation. During copulation, male grasp the female and inserts the hectocotylus into the female's mantle cavity where fertilization usually occurs. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into planktonic stage and live for some time before they grow larger and take up a benthic existence as adults.

Main reference References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Piatkowski, U. 2006. (Ref. 2488)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435: Version 2024-1)

Data deficient (DD) ; Date assessed: 02 July 2015

CITES status (Ref. 108899)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Human uses

Fisheries: commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 7.4 - 19.4, mean 11 (based on 1556 cells).

Resilience (Ref. 69278): High, minimum population doubling time less than 15 months (K=0.13-1.66; tm=0.78).

Prior r = 0.39, 95% CL = 0.26 - 0.58, Based on 2 full stock assessments.

Vulnerability (Ref. 71543): Low vulnerability (23 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Nutrients : Calcium = 126 [75, 177] mg/100g; Iron = 4.79 [1.67, 7.92] mg/100g; Protein = 15.5 [13.7, 17.4] %; Omega3 = 0.414 [0.262, 0.566] g/100g; Selenium = 57.8 [48.5, 67.2] μg/100g; VitaminA = 0 μg/100g; Zinc = 1.97 [0.92, 3.02] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.

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