Descripción

The squid has a long body with the shape of a tube. It has a fin in its end and tentacles in its head, with big eyes. It presents two long tentacles and eight that are shorter.

The mouth is in the center of the ring of tentacles and has a cartilaginous beak. Sexual dimorphism and internal fecundation occurs in squids.

Their color is brown in general, but it changes due to the presence of cromatophores in their skin, from light brown to dark brown with silver flashes. The average length of the mantle cavity is 28 cm.

Feeding habits

Its feeding habits are absolutely pelagic, preferably it eats bony fish such as anchovies, juveniles of hakes and lantern fishes; cannibalism does also exist. Crustaceans are a minor part of its diet.

Economic importance

Although it is the most abundant species of cephalopod in the South-West Atlantic and the one mostly captured in the Common Fishing Zone [Zona Común de Pesca], Uruguay has been catching them only as by – catch fauna while the fishing of hakes takes place.

Fishing methods

Squids are captured with diverse fishing gears. The specific one is the jigging, which gives the best results and with which the best quality of the product is obtained. Among the trawl nets, semi-pelagic trawl nets that cover a great vertical range and the bottom trawl nets can be distinguished.