Illex coindetii

Illex coindetii, commonly known as the southern shortfin squid or broadtail shortfin squid, is a species of neritic squids in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in the Mediterranean Sea and on both sides of the north Atlantic Ocean. Mature specimens of Illex coindetii from different populations can vary significantly in both size and form. They are sexually dimorphic, with females being typically larger than males. The maximum recorded mantle length is 32 cm (13 in) in males and 37 cm (15 in) in females. These unusually large specimens, however, are not typical of the species. The average mantle length is between 18 to 20 cm (7.1 to 7.9 in) in males and 25 to 27 cm (9.8 to 10.6 in) in females. The eight arms bear two rows of suckers with teeth. In males, the longest of the arms is about 55 to 90% of the total mantle length, while it is 48 to 57% in females. The tentacles have eight longitudinal rows of suckers on the dactylus of the tentacular clubs. The largest middle suckers on the tip are also notched on the rim farthest from the body or all around. In males, the fourth left or right arm develops into a secondary sexual organ known as the hectocotylus. It is of equal length or shorter than the undeveloped opposite arm and of the same diameter. The suckers on the distal third of the hectoctylus are lost and replaced with lamella-like flaps and conical papillae. The upper part of the beak (rostrum) has a long and robust hood, smooth shoulder and short wings. The lower beak has a straight and long jaw edge and wide and long wings with no lobes. The mantle is cylindrical with a width 15 to 25% of the mantle length. It is widest in the front region except in gravid females. The funnel–mantle locking apparatus (cartilaginous structure connecting the funnel to the mantle) is T-shaped, a characteristic of all ommastrephid squids. The funnel groove (depression on the bottom front part of the mantle where the funnel rests) is smooth and lacks foveola (pockets of skin found in ommastrephid squids of the subfamily Ommastrephinae). The fins are rhomboidal in shape, with a width of around 45 to 60% of the mantle length. Like other members of the genus, Illex coindetii lacks photophores (bioluminescent structures). The species was first described as Loligo coindetii by the French naturalist Jean Baptiste Vérany in 1837, from a specimen recovered from the Mediterranean Sea in Nice, France. Illex coindetii is one of the four species currently recognized under the genus Illex. The genus is the only member of the subfamily Illicinae in the commercially important squid family Ommastrephidae. Populations can vary in form and size considerably, but two consistent morphotypes have been tentatively identified between specimens from the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Despite the wide distribution range of Illex coindetii and its highly variable morphology, a 1998 study confirmed that Illex coindetii is indeed a single species. Illex coindetii is the most widespread species in the genus Illex. They can be found in the Mediterranean Sea and on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean, from as far north as the Bristol Channel to as far south as the Gulf of Mexico and along the coasts of Venezuela, Suriname and Namibia. They have also been reported from the Red Sea, but it is likely that the specimens in question were misidentified.