Histioteuthis eltaninae

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth161–1,218 m
Water temperature-1–28 °C
Best monthsJuly and October
How commonRare

About this species

Histioteuthis eltaninae is a species of deep-sea squid of the family Histioteuthidae, the cock eyed squids, so named due to their asymmetrical eyes. It inhabits the Southern Ocean, mostly in the subantarctic and Antarctic regions, within the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Histioteuthis eltaninae”, 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: 1 records
February: 8 records
March: 1 records
April: 4 records
May: 10 records
June: 4 records
July: 27 records
August: 4 records
September: 7 records
October: 35 records
November: 16 records
December: 8 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 161–1,218 m · Deepest record: 2,890 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 3 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 61 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -1–28 °C

-2–0 °C: 2 records
0–2 °C: 5 records
2–4 °C: 12 records
4–6 °C: 18 records
6–8 °C: 64 records
8–10 °C: 5 records
10–12 °C: 2 records
12–14 °C: 2 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 1 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 6 records
22–24 °C: 1 records
24–26 °C: 1 records
26–28 °C: 2 records

Names and classification

Names in 1 more languages

Japanese: エルタニンゴマフイカ

Similar species

Jewel squid
Histioteuthis reversa
Bonnelli's jewel squid
Histioteuthis bonnellii
Histioteuthis atlantica
Deep-webbed Cock-eyed Squid
Histioteuthis macrohista
Jewell squid
Histioteuthis meleagroteuthis
Common Cock-eyed Squid
Histioteuthis miranda

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).
127 open-data records from 1955 to 2022.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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