De Lamarck, 1798

Description
Adult. Very similar to Loligo forbesii, reaching a total length of 750 mm. Distinguished by the tentacle club, on which the median suckers of the middle region are three or four times the diameter of adjacent marginal suckers. Rings of large club suckers are smooth or with irregular small teeth on distal edge. Rings on small suckers on lappets of buccal membrane have distally with 7-10 long sharp teeth. Fin length 65% of mantle length in largest specimens. [L.vulgaris-photo ].
Larvae/juvenile [Loligo spp.-y ] Description not available. Generally no great changes in body forms occur in development from hatchling to adult. Hatchling length range 2.8-3.3 mm. Number of chromatophores decreases from ventral to dorsal side (Hanlon et al., in Sweeney et al., 1992).

Size
Adult mantle length maximum 75 cm; hatchling length 2.8-3.3 mm. [Synopsis of sizes of Loligo species from hatchling to adult Loligo-sizes-y ].

Depth range
Surface to 200 m, probably deeper.

Distribution in the North Sea
All North Sea, southern species, rare on British east coast.

World distribution
E Atlantic south of 59°N; from the Faeroe Islands and southern Norway to Senegal. Present in the Mediterranean Sea. On British coasts on southern and western parts only.

Remark
As some authors regard Alloteuthis as a subgenus within Loligo (read more in Genus Alloteuthis ), by consequence Loligo is the other subgenus; then the present species should be named as Loligo (Loligo) vulgaris de Lamarck, 1798.

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

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Loligo vulgaris Lamarck, 1798

Scientific synonyms and common names

Octopus vulgaris | Cuvier, 1797

Anderson, F.E., 2000. Phylogenetic relationships among loliginid squids (Cephalopoda: Myopsida) based on analyses of multiple data sets. Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 130: 603–633.

de Kluijver, M., S. Ingalsuo and R. de Bruyne, 2000. Macrobenthos of the North Sea. Vol. I - Keys to Mollusca and Brachiopoda. World Biodiversity database, CD-ROM Series. Expert Centre for Taxonomic Identifications (ETI), University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam.

Hayward, P.J. and J.S. Ryland, 1990. Handbook of the Marine Fauna of North-West Europe. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Muus, B.J., 1959. Skallus, Søtaender, Blaeksprutter. Danmarks Fauna, Band 65. 239 pages, 117 figs. Gads Forlag, København.

Muus, B.J., 1963b. Cephalopoda. Sub-order: Teuthoidea, Family Loliginidae. Fiches d'Identification du Zooplancton, 96 (1963). Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer, Kopenhagen.

Sweeney, M.J., F.E.R. Roper, K.M. Mangold, M.R. Clarke and S. v. Boletzky (editors), 1992. "Larval" and juvenile cephalopods: a manual for their identification. Smith. Contr. Zool., 513: 1-282.

Vecchione, M., T.F. Brakoniecki, Y. Natsukari and R.T. Hanlon, 1998. A provisional generic classification of the Family Loliginidae. In: N.A. Voss, M. Vecchione, R.B. Toll and M.J. Sweeney (eds.), Systematics and biogeography of cephalopods, Volume 1. Smiths. Contrib. Zool, 586: 215-222 (1998).

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