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The cephalopods are known to be commercially and ecologically important around the world. This group constitutes four major groups, Cuttlefishes, Squids, Octopuses, and Nautilii. The first three groups are present in the Egyptian Mediterranean and Red Seas and constitute a main component in the fisheries industry in Egypt. In order to understand the biology and ecology of any species, its identification should be conducted properly to maximize the accuracy of any study. The present monograph is prepared to demonstrate an identification key for the squid species of order Teuthoidea in the Egyptian waters. This is the second publication demonstrating a first-in-kind identification key for the three major cephalopod groups. The first monograph was about the cuttlefishes. Six Egyptian squid species were recorded; Loligo vulgaris, Loligo forbesi, Loligo duvauceli, Alloteuthis media, Illex coindetii, and Sepioteuthis lessoniana. Four of them; Loligo vulgaris, Loligo forbesi, Alloteuthis medi and Illex coindetii were recorded in the Mediterranean waters, while the other 2 species, Loligo duvauceli and Sepioteuthis lessoniana were recorded in Suez Gulf, Red Sea. Two squid species; Loligo forbesi and Sepioteuthis lessoniana were recorded in both the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Specimens of each species were collected for the purpose of identification using external morphological features. Body structures were separated and drawn by using a zoom stereoscopic microscope provided with a Camera Lucida drawing tube. The body structures were also photographed by a Canon Digital Camera.

Squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana is a sought-after fisheries commodity, leading to a high exploitation rate. This affects the sustainability of Squid (S. lessoniana) resources in wild, especially Spermonde Island. The aim of this study was to determine the population dynamics and the exploitation rate of Squid (S. lessoniana) in the Spermonde Islands of South Sulawesi. The results of the study are expected to provide information on the level of utilization of Squid and as a basis for sustainable management of squid in Spermonde Islands. The present study was conducted from March to July 2019 in Spermonde Islands, South Sulawesi. A survey was performed by direct measurement of the fish captured by local fishermen and merchants. Data collected on length and weight of squid were carried out for 3 or 4 times a week. The results showed length of squid ranged from 06 to 28 cm, the relationship between the length of the weight was negative allometric, the age group consisted of 4, the growth rate (K) of 0.37 per year, the maximum length (L max) of 31.5 cm, the total mortality rate (Z) of 2.85 per year, the natural mortality rate (M) of 0.95 per year, the capture mortality rate (F) of 1.90 per year and the exploitation rate is classified into over-exploitation.

Diversification of marine culture has an effective value for the sustainability of the livelihoods of small fishermen. In addition it can play a role in preventing the threat of utilization that is not environmentally friendly. Cuttlefish is one of the types of marine biota commodity that has high economic value and has the potential to be developed as a fishery diversification community. The purpose of this study was to determine the indicators of the potential of cuttlefish cultivation as a diversification strategy for small fishermen's cultivation and seagrass conservation in the study location. The research method used is the method of direct observation and interviews. Data analysis uses descriptive statistical analysis. The results showed that the average cuttlefish seedlings were 1293.5 individuals / month and the average cuttlefish caught by fishermen landed at TPI Tanjung Luar was 1229 individuals / month consisting of three species namely Sepia latimanus, Sepia pharaonis and Sepioteuthis lessoniana. In addition, marine cultivation has developed into the choice of livelihood for small fishermen, although it is still complementary. Furthermore, the group of farmers plays an active role in preventing local threats from uses that are not environmentally friendly. The conclusion is the diversification of cultivation with cuttlefish community is of strategic value to overcome the problem of the sustainability of small fishing livelihoods and local scale seagrass conservation in the study location. Therefore, diversification of cuttlefish culture can be considered, especially at the scale of small fishermen as a policy of developing seafood products to achieve food security, both at local, regional and national scale.

MORPHOLOGY, CLASIFICATION, AND DISTRIBUTION OF SQUID FAMILY LOLINGINIDAE. Squids are one of Indonesian export commodities that is produced in frozen, salted, dried or canned, however the information about biology, ecology, habitat and distribution of squid are little known. Squid have ten tentacles equipped with suction, and generates ink to defend against their enemies. Squids are demersal or semi-pelagic animal that lives in the waters column up to a depth of 400 m with diurnal movements. Squids reproduce sexually and by deocious. Squids with family Lolinginidae (genus Lolious) are distributed across the Indonesian waters with temperatures of 8 to 32 C and salinity of 8.5 to 30 ppm. Familly Lolinginidae is grouped into several genera included Afrololigo, Allotheuthis, Dorytheuthis, Heterololigo, Loliolus, Lollinguncula, Pickfordiateuthis, Sepioteuthis, dan Urotheuthis

Paralarvae of nine species of cephalopods, including the bobtail squid (Euprymna hyllebergi), sharp-tail pygmy squid (Idiosepius pygmaeus), bigfin reef squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana), needle cuttlefish (Sepia aculeata), spineless cuttlefish (Sepiella inermis), Pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis), marble octopus (Amphioctopus aegina), lesser blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochaena maculosa), and muddy argonaut (Argonauta hians) were collected from broodstock that had been cultured in the laboratories of the Department of Marine Science, Faculty of Fisheries of Kasetsart University in Bangkok, Thailand. The external morphological characteristics of the paralarva of each species were observed and recorded, such as the number and pattern of chromatophores, weight, length, and length index of the mantle. The compiled information would be a useful reference for the identification of cephalopods, especially at species level.

The level of genetic diversity and population differentiation of oval squid Shiro-ika Sepioteuthis sp. 2 around mainland Japan were examined using highly polymorphic DNA markers. Ten microsatellite loci showed relatively low genetic diversity (average observed heterozygosity H O = 0.68, overall mean number of alleles N A = 10.0) as compared with other squid, which may be explained by a recent history of population expansion. Populations from 12 sites along the coastline of Japan were genetically homogeneous, as measured by F ST values (global F ST: −0.0006; pairwise F ST: from −0.0046 to 0.0083), R ST values (global R ST: 0.0025; pairwise R ST: from −0.0076 to 0.03), a neighbor-joining (NJ) tree based on Cavalli-Sforza and Edwards chord distance, Bayesian clustering or analyses of three geographical groups (Sea of Japan, Seto Inland Sea, and Pacific Ocean; F CT = −0.0005), and should be considered as a single fishery stock. Allele frequencies also showed a high degree of similarity across different years in the samples taken from Hiroshima. Factors influencing this homogeneity include genetic exchange without barriers preventing gene flow, larval dispersal, and active adult migration of Sepioteuthis sp. 2.

The bigfin reef squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana is a neritic squid widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific region and of interest to fisheries for its high commercial value. The age and growth of this squid has been studied along its distribution range, from Japan to Australia; however, the life-history parameters of this squid around Taiwan are unclear. In this study, growth and maturation of S. lessoniana in the waters off northern Taiwan between April 2009 and March 2010 was studied using statolith microstructure analysis. Statoliths of 142 females (88–355 mm mantle length, ML) and 129 males (85–401 mm ML) were read. The oldest female was mature at 216 days (355 mm ML), whereas the oldest male was mature at 209 days (345 mm ML). The squids hatch almost year-round, except in January and February, peaking in May and August–September. The ML-at-age data were best described by Schnute and linear functions for the females and males, respectively. The males attained a higher size-at-age than the females. Maturity ogives by age and ML class indicated that females mature later and at a larger size than males. Growth and maturation parameters of seasonal cohorts showed little difference, although squids hatching in warmer seasons tend to have a faster growth rate and higher size-at-age than those hatching in colder seasons for both sexes. The differences of life-history traits between seasonal cohorts could be inferred by progressive changes in the life-history traits of the squids hatching during transitional months, i.e. months between two peak seasons. These results provide essential life-history traits and improve our understanding of S. lessoniana populations in the waters off northern Taiwan.

Some aspects of the reproductive characteristics of the commercially important squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Lesson, 1830) in the coastal waters of Mandapam, Palk Bay was studied with a view to provide possible management measures in this region. A total of 984 individuals (508 males and 476 females) were collected between April, 2009 to March, 2010. The size of specimens ranged from 40 mm to 290 mm in mantle length. Sex ratio was not significantly different from the expected ratio of 1:1 except for months of July, October and December. Spawning season as revealed by seasonal maturity stages, gonadosomatic index of sexes and nidamental gland length (NGL) and dorsal mantle length (DML) ratio of females, lied between January to June with peak at February. Size at maturity as determined by graphical method was 83.5 for males and 112.5 for females.

Antipredator responses, especially those of open-ocean squid, have been seldom studied in the natural environment. Sepioteuthis sepioidea, observed by snorkellers near the shore in early morning/late afternoon, produced an average of eight moves of over 1 m per hour, apparently mostly antipredator behaviours. Close approaches by herbivorous parrotfish elicited no response in 74% of encounters; otherwise, squid produced agonistic zebra stripes or startle-mantle-dots skin patterns. Predatory bar jack fish caused flight but not zebra displays, and squid usually paled and fled quickly (66%) from snapper. The speed of approach was the best predictor for flight and display responses to snapper, but for bar jack and parrotfish, the relative fish size and distance were the predictors for escalated responses. Paired dorsolateral mantle dots were produced when squid approached the sea bottom or hunted outside the group and in reaction to fish approaches; 56% of these were to the very common parrotfish. Reactive pai...

A taxonomy of the movement possibilities for any species, within the constraints of its neural and skeletal systems, should be one of the foundations of the study of its behaviour. Caribbean reef squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, appear to have many degrees of freedom in their movement as they live in a three-dimensional habitat and have no fixed skeleton but rather a muscular hydrostatic one. Within this apparent lack of constraints, there are regularities and patterns of common occurrences that allow this article to describe an ethogram of the movements, postures and positions of squid. Squid have a combination of bent, spread and twisted maintained postures of the eight arms and two tentacles that enhance camouflage. Their body–arm posture combinations are actively maintained in the water but also influenced by gravity. Positions related to conspecifics are stereotyped and important for communication. For locomotion, squid use a well-coordinated dual fin–jet locomotion system. This motor system uses tonic...

Jackson, G. D., Meekan, M. G., Wotherspoon, S., and Jackson, C. H. 2008. Distributions of young cephalopods in the tropical waters of Western Australia over two consecutive summers. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 65: 140–147. Cephalopod paralarvae and juveniles were sampled with light traps deployed at the surface and deeper in the southern NW Shelf and on Ningaloo Reef off Western Australia during two consecutive summers. One cross shelf transect (Exmouth) was sampled in the late spring and summers of 1997/1998 (summer 1) and 1998/1999 (summer 2), and a second cross shelf transect (Thevenard) and a longshore transect (Ningaloo) along the Ningaloo Reef were sampled in summer 2. Species captured in the order of abundance were octopods, Photololigo sp., Sepioteuthis lessoniana, and Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis. Most were captured in shallow traps except for Photololigo sp., which was common in both shallow and deep traps with larger animals found in deeper water. The presence of Idiosepius pygmaeus in deep water off Ningaloo Reef revealed the species to be eurytopic, inhabiting a wider range of habitats than previously known. Photololigo sp. and S. lessoniana were more abundant inshore, and octopods were especially abundant on mid-depth stations of the Exmouth transect, probably because of the turbulent mixing and increased productivity there. Fewer S. oualaniensis were caught during the first summer on the Ningaloo transect (n = 5) than during the second summer (n = 79).

CO2 ocean storage is proposed as a possible measure to mitigate climate changes caused by increasing atmospheric concentrations of the gas. The feasibility of the measure has been intensively investigated, yet its biological impact on marine animals is still largely unknown. We investigated the acute CO2 tolerance of juveniles of three marine invertebrates; the cuttlefish, Sepia lycidas, the squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, and the prawn, Marsupenaeus japonicus. Median tolerance limits of CO2 were 8.4% (24 h) for the cuttlefish, 5.9% (24 h) and 3.8% (48 h) for the squid and 14.3% (72 h) for the prawn. Comparison of these and previously reported data suggests an inverse relationship between O2 requirement and CO2 tolerance among marine animals., Plankton and Benthos Research, 3(3), pp.184-187; 2008

This paper describes a new method developed to directly measure size and temperature specific growth rates of individual wild squid. Our tag and recapture method is complimentary to previously employed statolith aging methods but provides finer scale detail. The Caribbean reef squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, is an ideal model organism for field work on squid life-history as they live in shallow coastal areas and are accessible. These squid were tagged and monitored for tag retention and growth rates over a period of 56 days in the laboratory and 27 days in the field. A total of 103 squid were tagged, 10 in the laboratory and 93 in the field. Visible Implant Elastomer (VIE) tags and Visible Implant Alphanumeric (VI Alpha) tags were used during this experiment. None of the VI Alpha tags were retained in laboratory animals, but VIE tags remained visible for the duration of the laboratory study and were used in all field studies. The 10 recaptured squid weighed from 19.1 to 122.9 g with an average and standard deviation recapture weight of 56.9 ±35.5 g, compared to their original weights of 48.0 ±30.5 g. In the field, these squid had instantaneous growth rates of 1.19–3.10 with an average growth rate of 1.93 ± 0.71 at temperatures ranging from 19.5 to 23.7 °C.

The use of temporal and/or spatial fish- ing exclusions is a common approach in managing impacts of squid fisheries targeting spawning aggre- gations, although there are limited data for assessing closed areas as a management tool. We evaluated the degree of protection that 2 closed areas were providing to individual spawning Sepioteuthis aus- tralis and assessed the extent of exchange between these coastal regions, separated by only 25 to 32 km. VR2 acoustic receivers were placed along the bound- aries of closed areas on the east coast of Tasmania, Australia, across smaller bays within these areas, and on individual seagrass beds. Over 77 000 detection events were obtained from 46 individuals over dura- tions of up to 129 d, demonstrating that individuals spawn over several months, traveling 100s of km within the spawning areas during this time. Squid were detected at closed area boundaries; however, most were detected again on other receivers within the closed area, indicating that although squid had moved within boundary vicinities, they had not actually left the protected area. Closures of critical spawning regions during times of heightened repro- ductive activity will therefore achieve the desired effect of protecting spawners and will allow for egg- laying. Clearly, inshore squid species can be highly mobile during an extended spawning phase and any assessment of the management benefits of closed areas needs to explicitly consider the temporal and spatial scales of the closed area in question.

Cephalopods collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE; 1959–1965) and preserved at the Smithsonian Institution Oceanographic Sorting Center were analysed. This present work reports on the squids of the Loliginidae. A total of 378 specimens of Loliginids was identified: Loligo chinensis, Loligo duvaucelii, Loligo edulis, Loligo singhalensis, Loligo (?) sumatrensis, Loliolus hardwickei, and Sepioteuthis lessoniana. A systematic description is provided for each species, as well as its geographic distribution. Extensive updated information on the biology and fishery of each species also is discussed. Basic measurements were taken on each specimen and main morphological indices were computed; these were compared with those reported in the literature for each species. Tables provide measurements, morphological indices and comparisons with other studies. Appendices present information on capture sites, measurements and indices of individuals by sex and stage of maturity. Supplemen...

The size selectivity of a trammel net for herded oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana in Tateyama Bay, Chiba Prefecture, was estimated by comparison between the mantle length frequency distributions of oval squid caught by a trammel net and by a set net. The measured mesh sizes of the inner net of the trammel net and of the final section of the set net were 85.3 and 11.3 mm, respectively. In the trammel net fishery where oval squid are herded into the net, most of the oval squid are caught in the bag-shaped inner net. Hence, the logistic function was employed for the size selectivity curve of the trammel net. The ‘share each length's catch total’ (SELECT) model was implemented for the estimation of the selectivity curve. The size selectivity r(l) of the trammel net for the oval squid was expressed as a logistic function of the mantle length l: r(l) = exp(−18.57 + 0.88 l)/[1 + exp(−18.57 + 0.88 l)]. From these logistic parameter estimates, the 50% selection mantle length and selection range (L75–L25) were calculated as 21.07 and 2.49 cm, respectively. The selection probability of oval squid whose mantle girth was equivalent to the mesh perimeter of the inner net was 0.09. Accordingly, oval squid of a girth smaller than the mesh perimeter were likely to pass through the mesh to escape from the net.

Fish catch by a set net in Hamdeuk fishing ground off Jeju Island were studied to determine seasonal variation of species composition and catch from 1998 to 2000. A total 72,022.9 kg was caught during the survey period, including Scomber japonicus and Trachurus japonicus of in the total. The other dominant species were Siganus fuscescens, Loligo chinesis, Seriola dumerili, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Sardinops melanostictus, and Seriola lalandi accounting to of the total. The fishing period conducted by a set net in Hamdeuk fishing ground were from May to November. The catch by a set net were higher in summer than in spring and autumn and closely related with the seasonal variation of sea water temperature. The catch was higher in 1998 than In 1999 and 2000, which was related to the sea water temperature in fishing ground.

Muchlisin ZA, Zulkarnaini B, Purnawan S, Muhadjier A, Fadli N, Cheng SH. 2014. Morphometric variations of three species of harvested cephalopods found in northern sea of Aceh Province, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 15: 142-146. The purpose of the present studywas to evaluate the morphometrics of three harvested cephalopods, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Sepia officinalis and Uroteuthis sp. found innorthern sea of Aceh Province, Indonesia. Sampling was conducted for six months from July to December 2012 in one week interval. Atotal of 318 cephalopods; 139 Sepioteuthis lessoniana, 139 Uroteuthis sp. and 40 Sepia officinalis were analyzed for morphometricstudy and 13 anatomical characters were measured to the nearest 0.01 mm using a digital caliper. Morphometric measurements weresignificantly different between the different species of cephalopods (ANOVA, p

Restocking of cephalopods originated from the awareness of the depletion of natural resources and a need for conservation from stakeholders, public and private sectors. The concept of cephalopod restocking activities is to produce the cephalopod seeds and then release them back into the habitat where the species occur. The process of seed production comprises the collection of broodstocks from the wild, incubation of egg masses, post-hatching management and releasing the seeds at selected locations. The aquaculture methodology that enhances the hatching rate of the eggs and survival rate of the hatchling must produce high yields for the success of restocking. The neritic species, particularly Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Sepia spp. and Octopus vulgaris have been one key focus for restocking due to its success in previous studies on aquaculture as well as their importance to fisheries. The success of aquaculture restocking, supported by the public sector, has been outstanding in Japan and Thailand with a long historical background. Millions of cephalopod seeds were annually released during the peak activities. Although the biological significance of restocking activities to natural stocks requires further research and evaluation, the activities are considered to have produced a significant social success.

A recent revival in using cephalopods as experimental animals has rekindled interest in their biology and life cycles, information with direct applications also in the rapidly growing ornamental aquarium species trade and in commercial aquaculture production for human consumption. Cephalopods have high rates of growth and food conversion, which for aquaculture translates into short culture cycles, high ratios of production to biomass and high cost-effectiveness. However, at present, only small-scale culture is possible and only for a few species: the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis , the loliginid squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana and the octopuses Octopus maya and O. vulgaris . These four species are the focus of this chapter, the aims of which are as follows: (1) to provide an overview of the culture requirements of cephalopods, (2) to highlight the physical and nutritional requirements at each phase of the life cycle regarded as essential for successful full-scale culture and (3) to identify current limitations and the topics on which further research is required. Knowledge of cephalopod culture methods is advanced, but commercialization is still constrained by the highly selective feeding habits of cephalopods and their requirement for large quantities of high-quality (preferably live) feed, particularly in the early stages of development. Future research should focus on problems related to the consistent production of viable numbers of juveniles, the resolution of which requires a better understanding of nutrition at all phases of the life cycle and better broodstock management, particularly regarding developments in genetic selection, control of reproduction and quality of eggs and offspring.

Laboratory growth studies and field work based on statoliths provide differing growth data for cephalopods. The goal of this study was to determine if visible implant elastomer (VIE) tags impact growth or mortality rates of Caribbean reef squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, Blainville. Five tanks with six tagged and six untagged squid in each were tested. There was no statistical difference in the growth rates between tagged and untagged squid in any of the treatments (p > 0.35). Mortality was equal across all experiments. We found no evidence that the injection of VIE tags had an impact on the growth rate of S. sepioidea, making these tags applicable for studying the growth rates of individual wild squid. This technology should be used to compliment statolith work by allowing scientists to directly investigate size and temperature specific growth rates in free ranging cephalopods.

In this study, the complete mitogenome sequence of the cryptic “lineage A” big-fin reef squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) has been sequenced by the next-generation sequencing method. The assembled mitogenome consists of 16,605 bp, which includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and 2 ribosomal RNAs genes. The overall base composition of “lineage A” S. lessoniana is 37.5% for A, 17.4% for C, 9.1% for G, and 35.9% for T and shows 87% identities to “lineage C” S. lessoniana. It is also noticed by its high T + A content (73.4%), two non-coding regions with TA tandem repeats. The complete mitogenome of the cryptic “lineage A” S. lessoniana provides essential and important DNA molecular data for further phylogeography and evolutionary analysis for big-fin reef squid species complex.

Animals adopt various forms of hunting according to their ecological, morphological, and cognitive features, and their specific hunting skills are acquired ontogenetically in relation to these features. It is noted that cuttlefish and squid hunt prey through the elongation of tentacles used specifically to capture prey. However, these two cephalopods have different lifestyles, leading to questions such as whether hunting skill is acquired similarly after birth and whether tentacle elongation is behaviorally identical. To address these questions, we observed and compared how captive pharaoh cuttlefish (Sepia pharaonis) and oval squid (Sepioteuthis lessoniana) attack prey during their early life stages. Like the adults, S. pharaonis hatchlings used the tentacular lunge attack, whereas S. lessoniana hatchlings used the arm-opening attack. S. lessoniana began to exhibit the tentacular strike attack after 30 days of age. In addition to timing of the emergence of a specific hunting mode, some differences were observed in the physical aspect of hunting behavior. For cuttlefish, maximum tentacle length and maximum speed of tentacle elongation increased from hatching to 30 days of age and then decreased. In contrast, for squid, maximum tentacle length increased from hatching to 30 days of age and then became constant. The distance to prey was positively correlated with maximum length and speed of tentacle elongation in S. pharaonis and with maximum swimming speed in S. lessoniana. These results show that cuttlefish mainly use an ambush strategy and that squid use a pursuit strategy. Possible causes for the ontogenetic differences in hunting behavior are discussed.

The schooling behaviour of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana was observed over 4 summers at 3 observation sites in the coastal waters of Okinawa Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. During this field study, 3 static appearances (belt, ball and sheet shape) and 2 transitional appearances (high and low density) were noted, recorded and described. In addition to formations, a member of S. lessoniana schools also displayed particular and repeated behavioural patterns such as vanguard and intimidating display. The 3 observation sites were tropical coral reefs near the coastline at a depth of 1 to 15 m on an average. All participating observers snorkelled and were equipped with various underwater digital video and photographic cameras. The schools observed consisted of 8 to over 100 members with a wide range of body sizes. Despite these biological and locational differences, both static and transitional appearances were consistently observed with equally consistent individual behavioural patterns. There have been studies on related species, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, at the San Blas Islands along the Caribbean coast of eastern Panama, and the same species, S. lessoniana, at a different geographical location, Casuarina Beach on Lizard Island, Australia. The findings of this study are consistent with those reported previously, with some notable differences.

Squid are popular exhibit animals but have been bred comparatively rarely in aquariums. A method of displaying and rearing the Broad-mantle squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana has been developed at Miyajima Aquarium. The construction of the exhibition tank and the successful rearing to maturity of eggs collected from the wild are described.

From diving observations and spawning examination using artificial substrata settled on the sea bed at 5-50m depths in the sea off Kyoto prefecture, the spawning season and spawning grounds of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana were studied from April to July, 1991. With a rise in water temperature above 16°C in coastal waters, mature females migrated to the inshore spawning grounds in the middle of May to lay their eggs. The depth of spawnIng gradually descended during the spawning period to the 30-40m depth range in the middle of June. Samples of mature males and females were collected off Kyoto prefecture using set nets from May to July, 1991. All investigated females, including those without spermatophores embedded in the buccal membrane, had sperm in their seminal receptacles. The average number of spermatophores of males decreased during the spawning period. Judging from the maximum number of spermatophores of a male that embedded in the buccal membrane of a female, males may copulate repeatedly about 10 times during the spawning period.

We reared the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana in pens from June 3 to July 31 1992. The eggs spawned by these squid were reared in a tank to hatch. A female reared with a male in a pen spawned 11 times at intervals of 1-9 days from June 11 to July 30. This female laid 1, 540 egg capsules containing 7, 780 eggs in total (55 to 302 capsules containing 231 to 1, 388 eggs at one spawning). The hatchability of the eggs at each spawning ranged from 66.7 to 97.8%. Another female reared without a male in a pen spawned more than four times, but the hatchability rate of the eggs was lower than the former female. The female with a male had spermatophores when she died, while the female without a male had no spermatophores after several spawnings (both females had spermatophores at the beginning of the experiment). These results suggest that the oval squids copulated over the period from the previous spawning to the next. The number (Y) of eggs in one capsule was related to the water temperature (X, °C) on the day of spawning. This relation was expressed by the following equation. Y=15.1-0.426X.

The squid trap is an artisanal type of fishing gear widely used in the Gulf of Thailand and along the Andaman coast. In 1994 the total catch of cephalopods by Thailand was 144 436 tons, of which 5% was from squid traps. The trap is covered by coconut fronds and set from 4 to >40 m deep, hanging above the sea bottom with the entrance facing upwards. Egg clusters are placed in the trap to entice squid to enter. Species caught include Sepioteuthis lessoniana (about 80%), Sepia pharaonis and Sepia aculeata, all mature animals coming to spawn.

The lessepsian species, Upeneus pori (Pisces), Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Cephalopoda) and Aquilonastra burtoni (Echinodermata) are reported for the first time from Cyprus, while the lessepsian bivalve, Barbatia plicata is reported for the first time from Kastelorizo Island, Greece. Finally, the fish species Pempheris vanicolensis, Sphyraena pinguis and Hemirampus far were collected more northerly than their previous records in the Aegean Sea. The geographical distribution of these species is given. According to the new records, the number of lessepsian fish, mollusc and echinoderm species known from Cyprus increases to 25, 38 and 4 species respectively.

Three consecutive generations of the oval squid, Sepioteuthis lessoniana, were cultured between October 2000 and May 2002 to investigate the life history of this species. Starting with the parental generation (wild-caught sub-adult squid from Tokushima Prefecture, Japan), we successfully obtained first and second generations. Life span and maturation of cultured oval squid and wild oval squid caught from the same habitat during April 2001 through to March 2002 were compared. Captive squid matured earlier and had a shorter life span (189–247 days) than the wild-caught squid (approximately one year) but reached an equivalent final body size. More ova were found in the oviducts of cultured females than in the oviducts of wild-caught females. Ultimately, collapse of the culture population was mainly due to the low rate of embryonic development of spawned ova, which might have resulted from the abnormal arrangement of ova in egg cases produced by later generations of females.

Conditions for transporting live young and subadults of the squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana were investigated in a laboratory experiment and transport trial. In the lab experiment, survival was examined for various seawater conditions and transport procedures. The quality of the water containing the squid decreased (pH4°C) after 24 h, but 12 of 33 examined squid (body weight (BW) 5.0-877 g) survived these changes. Squid survival was high when the BW: seawater volume ratio started below 30. Also, survival was higher in large containers such as a styrofoam box with large (>1620 cm2) bottom area. Based on these criteria, 24 squid (BW2 h) acclimation period survived the transfer.

Radio-acoustic positioning telemetry (RAPT) continuously triangulates positions of up to eight acoustic transmitters by relaying sound arrival times to a shore-based computer via autonomous, moored radio-sonobuoys. As transmitters on animals or people telemeter information via RAPT, it records their position with an accuracy of as little as one meter in as much as a cubic kilometer of water from a range of up to ten kilometres—scales appropriate to many marine protected areas (MPAs). RAPT studies in Lizard Island, Australia; Exuma Cay Park, Bahamas; Moriye Bay, Japan, and Leigh Laboratory Reserve, New Zealand, four significant MPAs, are reviewed showing the power of the technology for understanding and managing many aspects of a range of biological reserve types. Most studies to date have focused on monitoring fish (Lutjanus carponotatus, Lutjanidae; Plectropomus leopardus, Serranidae; Epinephelus striatus, Serranidae; Pagrus auratus, Sparidae) home ranges and migrations, but breeding and feeding behaviours of larger invertebrates such as horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus, Limulidae) and squids (Sepioteuthis lessonianna and Loligo vulgaris, Loliginidae) have also been examined. RAPT systems can also record environmental changes in real-time directly to the computer on shore for such variables as temperature, salinity, tide height, current direction and current speed from fixed-position transmitters; these are easily compared to animal activities. Tracking tagged divers or ROVs while they are videotaping provides an accurate and reproducible way of documenting long-term changes in the sessile organisms that make up benthic habitats; only the buoy moorings need remain in the water between surveys. Finally, the location and condition of diving tourists can be monitored, to protect both them and the environment!

This article reports on four different juvenile reef fish species, Polydactylus virginicus, Haemulon aurolineatum, H. steindachneri and Carangoides bartholomaei swimming along with schools of the caribbean reef squid Sepioteuthis sepioidea. Three different behaviours were observed. This is the first record of this squid species on Brazilian reef habitats. We suggest that this behaviour is mainly related to protection for juvenile fish against potential pelagic predators.

The diversity of cephalopod from nine divisions at Sarawak, Malaysia was studied from August 2010 to February 2011. Cephalopod was collected from landing stations and local wet markets of Kuching, Sri Aman, Sibu, Sarikei, Mukah, Miri, Limbang, Lawas and Bintulu. Seven species of cephalopod belongings to three families were identified during the study period. The family Loliginidae was dominated group of cephalopod which consists of three species namely Uroteuthis (Photololigo) edulis, Uroteuthis (Photololigo) chinensis and Sepioteuthis lessoniana and recorded from five divisions. The species of cuttlefishes (Family Sepiidae) were Sepia recurvirostra, Sepia aculeate and Sepiella inermis and recorded from Sarikei, Kuching and Bintulu. Octopodidae was the only one species named Cistopus indicus and found in Bintulu. The diversity of cephalopod was found highest in Bintulu with seven species while surprisingly no species of cephalopod was recorded from Limbang, Lawas and Mukah. Study suggests that the findings of this study could be useful for future reference and detail study on cephalopod in the coastal water of Sarawak, Malaysia.

Food consumption, food conversion and growth rates of the oval squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana were measured on an individaul basis fed on three kinds of live organisms, namely, fish, mysid and squid hatchling. Squid used in the present study were all reared from egg to the experimental size, ranged from 0.06 to 42.1g in wet body weight in an indoor aquarium. The daily food con-sumption rate ranged from 0 to 72% of body weight and depended upon the growth stage of the squid. Food conversion rate on a wet weight basis ranged from 15.4 to 43.8% and the rate was largely independent of the size of squid. Growth rate of the oval squid decreased with increasing size. The daily growth rate in body weight of hatchling reached 12.9% and that of the squid grown up to 30-50g in body weight ranged from 1.8 to 4.1%. The growth was dependent upon quality of food. Squid fed on squid hatchlings showed the highest growth rate followed by those fed on fish. The daily growth rate increased with each increment of the daily food consumption rate.

Recent years have seen the emergence of extensive studies of myopsid squid growth of the family Loliginidae. This has greatly advanced our understanding of their life histories. Growth data have accumulated from both statolith-based field studies and culture work. Validation studies on loliginids continue to support that statolith increments are laid down daily. Ageing work has also revealed that short lifespans are typical, with nine of the 21 species studied having lifespans 1 year. While growth is continuous and non-asymptotic, the marked plasticity in size-at-age has hindered the development of a general model to describe squid growth. Many loliginids are multiple spawners that continue to feed while growing and reproducing, although there has been some documented loss of conditon in mature individuals. An exception is Loligo opalescens, which has a terminal spawning strategy with a marked loss of condition and post-spawning mortality. Quantification of the cost of living and the energetics of loliginids are likely to be best achieved by combining field and culture studies on a species such as the Indo-Pacific squid Sepioteuthis lessoniana.

Demersal trawl and dredge surveys of the Gulf of Carpentaria in the early summers of 1990 and 1991 provided the first comprehensive assessment of the cephalopod fauna of this shallow, tropical basin off northern Australia. Twenty-one taxa (comprising five loliginid squids, seven cuttlefishes, seven octopuses and two dumpling squids) were recorded. In addition to hosting species distributed broadly in the Indo-West Pacific (e.g. loliginid squids Sepioteuthis lessoniana, Photololigo cf. chinensis and P. cf. edulis; cuttlefishes Sepia eiliptica and Sepia pharaonis), the Gulf of Carpentaria represents the most northwesterly extent of the range of some eastern Australian species (e.g. Loliolus noctiluca and Sepia whitieyana). Squid catches were lower in the north-western gulf in 1990 and higher in shallower water during the more geographically restricted survey in 1991, whereas cuttlefish were more evenly distributed throughout the different sampling areas in both years. Broad size ranges of both sexes of the four most abundant species (P. cf. chinensis (northern form), P. cf. eduiis, S. eiliptica and S. pharaonis) are indicative of extended spawning seasons, and fully mature individuals of these species were evident throughout the gulf. Cephalopods are a minor component in reported domestic fisheries catches from the Gulf of Carpentaria, where penaeid prawns are targeted. High (though seasonal) squid catch rates were reported annually by Taiwanese trawlers targeting butterfish and squid from certain areas prior to 1979. With the observed population structure of the abundant cephalopod species and relatively high catch rates in some localities during these recent surveys, it is suggested that the cephalopod resources of the Gulf of Carpentaria could support increased commercial fisheries exploitation.

INTRODUCTIONWild-caught squids have seldom survived for very long in laboratory aquaria. Tardent (1962) maintained Loligo vulgaris Lamarck, 1789 for a maximum of 60 days. Choe & Oshima (1963), Choe (1966) and LaRoe (1971) reared squids of the genus Sepioteuthis from eggs to adult size. Between 1975 and 1982 several successful attempts to maintain Loliginidae (e.g. Matsumoto, 1976; Hanlon, Hixon & Hulet, 1978, 1983; Yang et al. 1980, 1983) and Ommastrephidae (Flores et al. 1976; Flores, Igarashi & Mikami, 1977; O'Dor, Durward & Balch, 1977) were made. But to date only ten squid species have been maintained for more than forty days (review: Yang et al. 1980; Boletzky & Hanlon, 1983). Loligo opalescens Berry, 1911 holds the record for longevity in captivity at 233 days from egg to adult (Yang et al., 1983).

Sepioteuthis bilineata (Quoy and Gaimard, 1832) (Mollusca : Cephalopoda : Loliginidae), were observed in February 1970 laying egg capsules on an artificial reef off Goat Island, Leigh, Northland, New Zealand. The behaviour of the squid throughout the procedure of capsule placement is described. A description of the egg mass and the newly hatched squid is also given.