Loligo reynaudii, commonly known as the Cape Hope Squid, is a large squid

Squid

Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...

 belonging to the family Loliginidae

Loliginidae

Loliginidae, commonly known as pencil squids, is an aquatic family of the order Teuthida .-Species:The following classification follows Vecchione et al. and the Tree of Life Web Project .*Genus Afrololigo...

. In South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 it is known as either calamari or chokka.
It was previously treated as a subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

 of Loligo vulgaris

Loligo vulgaris

The European squid is a large squid belonging to the family Loliginidae. It occurs abundantly in coastal waters from the North Sea to at least the west coast of Africa. This species lives from sea level to depths of . Its mantle is up to long...

, the European squid.

Distribution

It occurs in coastal South African waters from False Bay

False Bay

False Bay is a body of water defined by Cape Hangklip and the Cape Peninsula in the extreme South-West of South Africa.- Description and location :...

 to Port Elizabeth and as far as Port Alfred

Port Alfred

Port Alfred is a small town with a population of just under 20,000 in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated on the eastern seaboard of the country at the mouth of the Kowie River, almost exactly half-way between the larger cities of Port Elizabeth and East London and 30 km...

. This species lives from sea level to depths of 200 m (656.2 ft).

Description

This animals has an elongated slender body with eight short arms and two very long retractile tentacles, all of which have suckers. It has relatively long diamond-shaped fins, which run more than half the length of the mantle

Mantle (mollusc)

The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...

. Its mantle is up to 40 cm (15.7 in) long. Its eyes are covered with a membrane which is part of the skin covering the head.

Ecology

The South African squid feeds on small fishes. It forms dense breeding aggregations in bays between Cape Point and Port Elizabeth in summer, laying sausage-shaped bunches of egg bundles on the sea floor. The young are transported west by the Agulhas Current and mature on the Agulhas Bank. They then migrate eastwards as adults back to their spawning grounds.

The species is extensively exploited by commercial fisheries. Its natural predators include: Short-tail stingray

Short-tail stingray

The short-tail stingray or smooth stingray is a common species of stingray in the family Dasyatidae. It occurs off southern Africa, typically offshore at a depth of , and off southern Australia and New Zealand, from the intertidal zone to a depth of...

, Diamond ray, Spotted ragged-tooth shark, Cape fur seal

Cape Fur Seal

The brown fur seal , also known as the Cape fur seal, South African fur seal and the Australian fur seal is a species of fur seal.-Description:...

, cat shark and numerous species of fishes.

External links

• Charles Maxwell videos