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Neon Flying Squid

Neon Flying Squid
Latin Name

Ommastrephes bartrami

Group Name

Invertebrates

Taxonomy details

Habitat

Neon flying squid are distributed throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. In the Pacific, they range from the Aleutian Islands to Central America in the east and from Kamchatka to China in the west, with a separate population occurring near Australia. In the eastern Atlantic, they range from Scandinavia to the western coast of Africa, and in the western Atlantic, from Newfoundland and Labrador to the northern coast of South America. A population also exists in the southern Atlantic. Neon flying squid are found in the western Indian Ocean as well. Flying squid generally collect near cold-water fronts when feeding near the surface at night and descend to depths greater than 300 metres during the day.

Species Description

Like other squid, neon flying squid have large eyes, 10 arms and two feeding tentacles. They have a thick, muscular mantle and short tentacles. They are mauve, with silver or gold on their underside. Females grow to a maximum mantle length of about 50 centimetres and weigh 5.3 kilograms (females are larger than males). They live for only about a year.

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