Loligo vulgaris

De Lamarck, 1798

Description
Adult. Very similar to Loligo forbesii, reaching a total length of 750 mm. Distinguished by the tentacle club, on which the median suckers of the middle region are three or four times the diameter of adjacent marginal suckers. Rings of large club suckers are smooth or with irregular small teeth on distal edge. Rings on small suckers on lappets of buccal membrane have distally with 7-10 long sharp teeth. Fin length 65% of mantle length in largest specimens. [L.vulgaris-photo ].
Larvae/juvenile [Loligo spp.-y ] Description not available. Generally no great changes in body forms occur in development from hatchling to adult. Hatchling length range 2.8-3.3 mm. Number of chromatophores decreases from ventral to dorsal side (Hanlon et al., in Sweeney et al., 1992).

Size
Adult mantle length maximum 75 cm; hatchling length 2.8-3.3 mm. [Synopsis of sizes of Loligo species from hatchling to adult Loligo-sizes-y ].

Depth range
Surface to 200 m, probably deeper.

Distribution in the North Sea
All North Sea, southern species, rare on British east coast.

World distribution
E Atlantic south of 59°N; from the Faeroe Islands and southern Norway to Senegal. Present in the Mediterranean Sea. On British coasts on southern and western parts only.

Remark
As some authors regard Alloteuthis as a subgenus within Loligo (read more in Genus Alloteuthis ), by consequence Loligo is the other subgenus; then the present species should be named as Loligo (Loligo) vulgaris de Lamarck, 1798.