Jewel squid

Histioteuthis reversa

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth150–1,657 m
Water temperature8–29 °C
Best monthsMay and June
How commonOccasional

About this species

Histioteuthis reversa, commonly known as the reverse jewel squid or the elongate jewel squid, is a species of cock-eyed squid, so called because the eyes are dissimilar. It occurs at moderate depths in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. It is also known from the Indian Ocean.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Histioteuthis reversa”, 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: 4 records
February: 20 records
March: 42 records
April: 31 records
May: 95 records
June: 91 records
July: 52 records
August: 31 records
September: 42 records
October: 7 records
November: 4 records
December: 18 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 150–1,657 m · Deepest record: 4,332 m

0–10 m: 7 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 2 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 5 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 2 records
100–110 m: 8 records
110+ m: 340 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 8–29 °C

6–8 °C: 4 records
8–10 °C: 7 records
10–12 °C: 76 records
12–14 °C: 65 records
14–16 °C: 40 records
16–18 °C: 62 records
18–20 °C: 203 records
20–22 °C: 24 records
22–24 °C: 4 records
24–26 °C: 4 records
26–28 °C: 15 records
28–30 °C: 8 records

Names and classification

English: Jewel squid, Reverse jewell squid, jewel squid, reverse jewell squid

Other scientific names: Calliteuthis elongata, Calliteuthis meneghinii, Calliteuthis reversa, Histioteuthis elongata, Histioteuthis elongatus, Histioteuthis reversus, Stigmatoteuthis verrilli

Similar species

Bonnelli's jewel squid
Histioteuthis bonnellii
Histioteuthis atlantica
Histioteuthis eltaninae
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).
537 open-data records from 1880 to 2022.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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