Glass squid

Hyaloteuthis pelagica

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth26–660 m
Water temperature22–29 °C
Best monthsAugust
How commonRare

About this species

Hyaloteuthis is a genus of squids in the family Ommastrephidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species, Hyaloteuthis pelagica, also known as the glassy flying squid or glass squid. The glassy flying squid grows up to 9 cm (3.5 in) in length and is bioluminescent.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Hyaloteuthis”, 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: 1 records
March: 8 records
April: 7 records
May: 4 records
June: 5 records
July: 8 records
August: 34 records
September: 5 records
October: 2 records
November: 2 records
December: 0 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 26–660 m · Deepest record: 1,025 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 0 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 1 records
90–100 m: 1 records
100–110 m: 7 records
110+ m: 34 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 22–29 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 30 records
24–26 °C: 41 records
26–28 °C: 14 records
28–30 °C: 1 records

Names and classification

English: Glass squid, Glassy flying squid, glass squid, glassy flying squid

Names in 4 more languages

Spanish: Pota estrellada
French: Encornet vitreux
Japanese: シラホシイカ
Thai: ปลาหมึกหิ่งห้อยแก้ว

Other scientific names: Sepia pelagica

Similar species

New Zealand arrow squid
Nototodarus sloanii
Gould's flying squid
Nototodarus gouldi
Akaika
Ommastrephes bartramii
Purpleback flying squid
Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis
Luminous flying squid
Eucleoteuthis luminosa
Hawaiian flying squid
Nototodarus hawaiiensis

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).
88 open-data records from 1932 to 2005.
Species data updated November 3, 2026.

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