Reproductive biology in two species of deep-sea squids

Abstract

Deep-sea squids, Moroteuthis ingens and Gonatus antarcticus, were collected in the slope waters off the Falkland Islands and their reproductive systems preserved and investigated onshore. Changes in oocyte length-frequencies at maturation and spawning, and their fecundity were studied. These squids, as well as many other species, are characterised by a synchronous oocyte growth and ovulation. Oviducts are not used for ripe egg accumulation and consequently the universal scale of Lipinski (1979) cannot be applied to assign female maturity. M. ingens spawns near the bottom; its fecundity is 168-297 thousand eggs. Maximum egg size is 1.8-2.7 mm. G. antarcticus spawns midwater; its fecundity is 10-25 thousand eggs. Egg size is 3.2-3.3 mm. In M. ingens spawning takes place in the austral autumn and winter, in G. antarcticus-in austral winter. Our data and the literature data show that the so-called "synchronous ovulation" probably occurs in all deepwater squids. This pattern is very rare among fish, but is quite common among benthic octopods that brood their egg masses.