Pyroteuthis margaritifera (Rüppell, 1844) Jewel enope squid |
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photo by
FAO |
Family: | Pyroteuthidae (fire squids) | |||
Max. size: | 5 cm ML (male/unsexed) | |||
Environment: | bathypelagic; marine; depth range 50 - 800 m | |||
Distribution: | Atlantic Ocean, Indo-West Pacific and the Mediterranean Sea. Tropical to temperate. | |||
Diagnosis: | ||||
Biology: | Cosmopolitan in tropical, subtropical to temperate waters. In the South Pacific Ocean the species is common in the mixed waters of the subtropical frontal zone and the sub-Antarctic waters. Adults occupy the upper mesopelagic zone during the day and then undergo diel vertical migration into epipelagic waters at night: off Bermuda, closing-net studies showed it occurs principally at 375 to 500 m during the day and ascends to 75 to 175 m at night; in open net studies off the Canary Islands, found them at 400 to 800 m during the day and 50 to 100 m to 200 m at night. The species occurs in the eastern Mediterranean Sea/northern Aegean Sea in the mesobathyal basins (Ref. 97142). | |||
IUCN Red List Status: | (LC); Date assessed: 11 May 2010 Ref. 123251) | |||
Threat to humans: | ||||
Country info: |
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