DNA barcoding from the hooked squids (Cephalopods: Onychoteuthidae) of the Sargasso Sea.

Squids of the family Onychoteuthidae are ecologically important in pelagic food webs and have been reported from every ocean except the Arctic. Although they are abundant and caught frequently as bycatch in fisheries, the biogeography of many species remains poorly understood. Species identification within the Atlantic Ocean is usually restricted to two species: <italic>Onychoteuthis banksii</italic> and <italic>Onykia carriboea</italic>. Here, we report the occurrence of four species of the family Onychoteuthidae (<italic>Onychoteuthis</italic> cf. <italic>banksii</italic>, <italic>Onykia carriboea</italic>, <italic>Walvisteuthis jeremiahi</italic>, and <italic>Onychoteuthis</italic> sp. AL 2) from the Sargasso Sea in the western Atlantic, identified using DNA barcoding (cytochrome <italic>c</italic> oxidase subunit I) and morphology. Our results have doubled the known onychoteuthid biodiversity in the Sargasso Sea, which has implications for the ecology of this oceanic region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]