FAO Species Identification Guide for Fishery Purposes Western

Loliginidae 777
Photololigo singhalensis (Ortmann, 1891)
Frequent synonyms / misidentifications: Doryteuthis sibogae Adam,
1954; Loligo sibogae (Adam, 1954) / Photololigo chinensis (Gray, 1849).
FAO names: En - Long barrel squid; Fr - Calmar baril; Sp - Calamar buril.
Diagnostic characters: Mantle long and slender. Fins long, reaching
approximately 50% of mantle length. Tentacular clubs short, slightly
expanded; suckers in medial rows of manus only about 25% larger
than those on lateral rows with 20 to 22 sharply pointed, curved
teeth, some of which are quite reduced in size. Arms relatively short;
sucker rings with 7 to 11 long, plate-like squared teeth distally,
smooth proximally.LeftarmIV hectocotylized in distal half with slender
papillae. Paired, bean-shaped light organs present
adjacent to the rectum on the ink sac.
Size: Maximum mantle length 500 mm (males)
and 310 mm (females), commonly caught at 150
to 200 mm mantle length.
Habitat, biology, and fisheries: A neritic,
semipelagic species occurring at depths from 30
to 120 m. It is positively phototactic, a feature that
is utilized in the fishery by attracting it by light prior
to capture. It aggregates in large schools in summer,
probably for mating and spawning. Males
grow larger than females. In the Philippines, Indonesia
and Taiwan Province of China (Penghu), it
supports localized and subsistence fisheries and
is taken by jigs, purse seines, and dip-nets using
light attraction together with Photololigo chinensis
and other large loliginids. Seasonally abundant,
indicating some migration.
Distribution: Indo-Pacific from Eastern Arabian
Sea, Bay of Bengal to South China Sea and Philippines
Sea, Indonesian waters, Solomon Sea,
and Taiwan Province of China (Penghu).
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largest tentacular
club sucker ring
largest arm III
sucker ring
dorsal view