Illex argentinus

Argentine shortfin squid
Illex argentinus dissected in the National Museum of Natural History of Uruguay.
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Family: Ommastrephidae
Genus: Illex
Species:
I. argentinus
Binomial name
Illex argentinus
(Castellanos, 1960)[2]
Synonyms
  • Ommastrephes argentinus
    Castellanos, 1960

Illex argentinus, commonly known as the Argentine shortfin squid, is a species of squid in the family Ommastrephidae from the south western Atlantic Ocean.

It is one of the most commercially fished species of squid, with 511,087 tons harvested in 2002, or 23.3% of the entire squid harvest.[3]

I. argentinus is most prevalent along the coasts of South America, in Argentina, Brazil and in the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) in the Patagonian shelf. Some of the largest fisheries in the world are along these coasts, capturing millions of pounds of these shortfin squid a year.[1][4]

Although they are relatively small species, they tend to form shoals, making them easy to be caught by fisheries.[5]

  1. ^ a b Barratt, I. & Allcock, L. (2014). "Illex argentinus". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163246A989453. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T163246A989453.en. Downloaded on 10 March 2018.
  2. ^ Julian Finn (2016). "Illex argentinus (Castellanos, 1960)". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  3. ^ Rodhouse, Paul G (2005). "Review of the state of world marine fishery resources: Fisheries technical paper". World Squid Resources (447). FAO. ISBN 92-5-105267-0.
  4. ^ "Chinese Fishing Vessels' 'Floating Cities' Prey on Latin American Seas". Diálogo Américas. 2023-06-05. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  5. ^ Chiu, Tsan-Yu; Chiu, Tai-Sheng; Chen, Chih-Shin (September 2017). "Movement patterns determine the availability of Argentine shortfin squid Illex argentinus to fisheries". Fisheries Research. 193 (1): 71–80. doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2017.03.023 – via ResearchGate.