Ommastrephes
| Neon flying squid | |
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| A specimen of Ommastrephes bartramii from the Natural History Museum in London | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Family: | Ommastrephidae |
| Subfamily: | Ommastrephinae |
| Genus: |
Ommastrephes d'Orbigny, 1834 in 1834–1847 |
| Species: | O. bartramii |
| Binomial name | |
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Ommastrephes bartramii (Lesueur, 1821) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Species synonymy
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The neon flying squid (Ommastrephes bartramii), sometimes called the red flying squid, akaika, and red squid is a species of large flying squid in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in subtropical and temperate oceanic waters globally.
Ommastrephes bartramii belongs to the family Ommastrephidae, subfamily Ommastrephinae. It is the only species belonging to the monospecific genus Ommastrephes. It was first described by the French naturalist, explorer, and artist Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1821. Russian taxonomists consider the separate spawning populations of Ommastrephes bartramii as subspecies.
Ommastrephes bartramii are easily distinguishable by the presence of an elongated silver-colored band in the middle of the ventral side of the mantle. Adult males usually have a mantle length of 29 to 32 cm (0.95 to 1.05 ft), but can reach the maximum length of 45 cm (1.48 ft). Adult females are much larger, usually having a mantle length of around 50 cm (1.6 ft), with the maximum known length being 60 cm (2.0 ft).
Their arms do not possess lateral membranes and have 9 to 27 suckers on the ventral sucker series and 10 to 25 suckers on the dorsal sucker series. The left and right third arms have protective membranes greater in width than the arm width. The develops from the left or right fourth arm. Another distinguishing characteristic of O. bartramii is the presence of 4 to 7 toothed suckers on the tentacular club, near the nearest carpal suckers of the carpal locking apparatus. This is especially useful in differentiating it from the orangeback flying squid (Sthenoteuthis pteropus).
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Wikipedia