Abstract
Data on opportunistic sightings of diamond-shaped squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus egg masses in the Canary Islands (Atlantic Ocean) are presented. A total of 16 egg masses of this species were recorded and photographed from 2000 to 2010 around the western islands of the archipelago (El Hierro, Tenerife and La Gomera). These data reveal the existence of an important spawning area for diamond-shaped squid around the Canary Islands, in subtropical east Atlantic waters. We provide preliminary data for the potential development of an artisanal fishery focused on this species, and a discussion on its potential impacts on the marine ecosystem.
Highlights
The large oceanic diamond-shaped squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus Troschel, 1857 is the only species of the family Thysanoteuthidae
Thysanoteuthis rhombus spawns throughout the year in tropical waters, but spawning in subtropical waters is restricted to warm periods and areas with strong warm currents, such as Agulhas and Kuroshio (Nigmatullin et al 1995)
Our observations support this pattern, since the Canary Islands are characterized by intense mesoscale oceanographic structures, such as eddies and warm wakes (Barton et al 1998)
Summary
The large oceanic diamond-shaped squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus Troschel, 1857 is the only species of the family Thysanoteuthidae. T. rhombus egg masses are cylindrical, large, gelatinous and planktonic, floating in the sea-surface of tropical and subtropical oceans, their lengths varying from 0.6 to 1,8 m with diameters from 110 to 300 mm. These masses contain from 35,000 to 75,000 eggs, arranged in two rows forming a spiral with two blunt ends (Nigmatullin et al 1995). These are the first records of egg masses in the geographic region; adult catches have been recorded worldwide (Pulido-López and LópezPinto 2002; Ikeda et al 2003; Marcic et al 2008; Bello 2009; Salvat-Torres et al 2009)
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