(auctt. non Lichtenstein, 1818)

Description:
Mantle length 30-35 cm. Tentacles are long and strong. One row of suckers along the ventral edge of tentacular stalk. Club is short, its length 13-17 % of mantle length. In addition to the central hook in the club, a distal and some small proximal hooks are present; central hook is very large and sharp. There are 9-13 transverse rows of suckers and hooks in the basal half of the 3rd arm; 14-17 transverse rows of suckers in the basal half of the 4th arm. Fin is heart-shaped, passing beyond the posterior end of the mantle.

Habitat:
Lower epipelagic and mesopelagic; at night sometimes ascending to the surface. Also lives at the bottom on the slopes. Larvae and juveniles live in the epipelagic zone.

Distribution:
A very common species. All deep-sea part of the Polar Basin, Norway, Greenland, western Barents Sea, Baffin Bay, Davis Strait, Labrador Sea, and north-western Atlantic southward to south of Cape Cod (Distr. G. fabricii).

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Subclass Coleoidea
Order Teuthoidea
Suborder Oegopsida
Family Gonatidae
Genus Gonatus
Species Gonatus fabricii

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Gonatus fabricii (Lichtenstein, 1818)

Scientific synonyms and common names

Gonatus steenstrupi

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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