Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Uroteuthis
    Species
    chinensis
    Family
    Loliginidae
    Order
    Myopsida
    Superorder
    Decapodiformes
    Subclass
    Coleoidea
    Class
    Cephalopoda
    Phylum
    Mollusca
    Kingdom
    Animalia
  • Size Range
    Body up to 30cm.

The Pencil Squid forms the basis of valuable local and commercial fisheries throughout South-east Asia.

Identification

Uroteuthis chinensis is an elongate squid, typically covered in red or orange spots. They also possess a pair of light organs inside the mantle, one on each side of their ink sac. Their internal shell (gladius) is long and thin.

References

  • Norman, M & A. Reid., (2000) A Guide to Squid, Cuttlefish and Octopuses of Australasia, CSIRO Publishing, Victoria (Collingwood)