The northernmost record of Sepietta oweniana (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae) and omments on boreo-subtropical cephalopod species occurrence in the arctic

Abstract

© Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 2014. The first observation of the common bobtail squid Sepietta oweniana has been made in the Barents Sea (Tromsø Bank; <inf>70</inf>°<inf>54</inf>′ N <inf>19</inf>°<inf>46.8</inf>′E). It is the northernmost area of this species distribution. No changes were found in the reproductive system structure. But the food spectrum was changed, particularly, juvenile fish of the Lotidae family was found. The bobtail squid of the Sepiolinae subfamily have never been recorded as fish eaters previously. The expansion of boreosubtropical species of cephalopods into the Arctic during the last decade can be divided into two groups: (1) a foraging migration happening relatively regularly; and (2) a range expansion due to the ongoing Arctic warming. The case of S. oweniana obviously belongs to the second group.