page_title: Bigfin reef squid
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Bigfin reef squid / Ecology / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: Egypt Summer 2006
context_page_description: Sepioteuthis lessoniana, commonly known as the bigfin reef squid, glitter squid or oval squid, is a commercially important species of loliginid squid. It is one of the three currently recognized species belonging to the genus Sepioteuthis. Studies in 1993, however, have indicated that bigfin reef squids may comprise a cryptic species complex. The species is likely to include several very similar and closely related species.
  Bigfin reef squids are characterised by a large oval fin that extends throughout the margins of its mantle, giving them a superficial similarity to cuttlefish. They are small to medium-sized squids, averaging 3.8 to 33 centimetres in length. They exhibit elaborate mating displays and usually spawn in May, but it can vary by location. The paralarvae resemble miniature adults and are remarkable for already having the capability to change body colouration upon hatching. Bigfin reef squids have the fastest recorded growth rates of any large marine invertebrate, reaching 600 g in only four months. They are a short-lived species, with a maximum recorded lifespan of 315 days.
  The diet of bigfin reef squids comprises mainly crustaceans and small fish.
context_section_description: The bigfin reef squid is a neritic warm water-dwelling squid.  They are usually found 0 to 100 m (0 to 328 ft) below the water's surface. They tend to remain close to the shoreline, near rocks and reefs. They are slightly more active during the night and will move to deeper waters or find cover in daytime. Large numbers of juveniles can often be found hiding beneath floating driftwood.
  The bigfin reef squid is the most widespread species in the genus Sepioteuthis. It is found in temperate and tropical regions of the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Their original range extends east to the Hawaiian Islands, west to the Red Sea, north to Japan, and south to Australia and New Zealand (42°N to 42°S and 32°E to 154°W). The range has also expanded to include parts of the Mediterranean Sea. In 2002, bigfin reef squids were first documented in the Gulf of İskenderun of the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. They may have already existed in significant populations in the area as they have acquired a common name among the fishermen of the Aegean Sea – σουπιοκαλάμαρο (soupiocalamaro, literally "cuttlefish-like squid"). It is a Lessepsian migrant, reaching the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal.
caption: A bigfin reef squid among corals in the Red Sea of Egypt
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