(Lamarck, 1798)

Description:
Body is slender, up to 210 mm long, with maximum mantle length of 140 mm; produced posteriorly to a finely tapered point; in males the portion posterior to the fins constitutes one-third to one-half total mantle length, in females less than one-quarter. Fins are narrow, rounded, together with a heart shape outline in dorsal view. Width of the fin in adults is above 25 % of mantle length. Dorsal anterior edge of mantle produced as a quadrate projection extending between eyes. Arms up to twice length of head, with flattened, angular section, dorsal pair half length of ventral pair; all with two longitudinal series of suckers. Length of the longest arm in adults is 20-25 % of mantle length. Tentacle club are narrow with median suckers of middle region up to four times diameter of adjacent marginal suckers; suckers are attached obliquely to club axis at angle of about 45°. Difficult to distinguish from Alloteuthis media.

Habitat:
In coastal waters and offshore.

Distribution:
From the Shetland Island and southern Norway to Cape Blanc and the Mediterranean Sea. Widespread and abundant in the North Sea (Distr. A. subulata).

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Subclass Coleoidea
Order Teuthoidea
Suborder Myopsida
Family Loliginidae
Genus Alloteuthis
Species Alloteuthis subulata

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Alloteuthis subulata (Lamarck, 1798)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Loligo subulatus
Alloteuthis subulatus

Hayward, P.J., Wigham, G.D. & N. Yonow, 1990. Mollusca I: Polyplacophora, Scaphopoda, and Gastropoda. In: The Marine Fauna of the British Isles and North-West Europe. (ed. P.J. Hayward & J.S. Ryland). Clarendon Press, Oxford: 628-730.

Muus, B.J., 1959. Skallus Søtaender Blaeksprutter. Danmarks Fauna, 65. Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening.

Nesis, K.N., 1987. Cephalopods of the world. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Ltd.

Poppe, G.T. & Y. Goto, 1993. European Seashells. Vol. II. 221 pp. Wiesbaden/Verlag Christa Hemmen.

Seaward, D.R., 1990. Distribution of the marine molluscs of north west Europe. Nature Conservancy Council.

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