Cockatoo squid

Cranchia scabra

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth28–1,000 m
Water temperature-1–29 °C
Best monthsJanuary, February, and May
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Emőke Dénes, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Cranchia scabra is a species of glass squid, sometimes called the rough glass squid. It is the only species in the genus, and is fairly small. They reside in the epipelagic zones of the tropical Atlantic. The genus Cranchia is named after John Cranch who first described this species; it has subsequently become the type genus of its family.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Cranchia scabra”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 27 records
February: 44 records
March: 21 records
April: 18 records
May: 35 records
June: 25 records
July: 6 records
August: 19 records
September: 16 records
October: 16 records
November: 13 records
December: 13 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 28–1,000 m · Deepest record: 3,655 m

0–10 m: 8 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 34 records
30–40 m: 6 records
40–50 m: 3 records
50–60 m: 6 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 4 records
80–90 m: 2 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 10 records
110+ m: 115 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–29 °C

-2–0 °C: 1 records
0–2 °C: 0 records
2–4 °C: 0 records
4–6 °C: 0 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 2 records
10–12 °C: 8 records
12–14 °C: 26 records
14–16 °C: 10 records
16–18 °C: 45 records
18–20 °C: 46 records
20–22 °C: 81 records
22–24 °C: 42 records
24–26 °C: 33 records
26–28 °C: 324 records
28–30 °C: 79 records

Names and classification

English: Cockatoo squid, Rough cranch squid, cockatoo squid, Glass squid, Rough Glass Squid

Names in 7 more languages

German: Warziger Gallertschirm
Spanish: Calamar de cristal áspero, Cranquiluria ruda
French: Encornet-outre rude
Japanese: サメハダホウズキイカ, サメハダボウズキイカ
Korean: 악어가죽주머니오징어
Thai: ปลาหมึกแก้วหนังหยาบ
Simplified Chinese: Xiăo-Tóu-Yóu, 小頭魷

Other scientific names: Cranchia hispida, Cranchia tenuitentaculeta, Loligo cranchii, Octopus (Philonexis) eylais, Octopus eylais, Philonexis eylais

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
912 open-data records from 1908 to 2022.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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