Grimaldi scaled squid

Lepidoteuthis grimaldii

Cephalopods
IUCN: Least concern

Usual depth37–948 m
Water temperature12–27 °C
Best monthsMarch and December
How commonRare

About this species

Lepidoteuthis grimaldii, also known as the Grimaldi scaled squid, is a large squid growing to 1 m in mantle length. It is named after the Grimaldi family, reigning house of Monaco. Prince Albert I of Monaco was an amateur teuthologist who pioneered the study of deep sea squids by collecting the 'precious regurgitations' of sperm whales. The Grimaldi scaled squid was first collected from the stomach contents of a sperm whale. It is a widely distributed species in tropical and subtropical areas of the North and South Atlantic, the southern Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, where it has been recorded off Japan and in the west Pacific.

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

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 5 records
February: 2 records
March: 10 records
April: 3 records
May: 0 records
June: 2 records
July: 2 records
August: 1 records
September: 1 records
October: 1 records
November: 3 records
December: 6 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 37–948 m · Deepest record: 3,500 m

0–10 m: 1 records
10–20 m: 1 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 0 records
50–60 m: 1 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 2 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 17 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 12–27 °C

12–14 °C: 8 records
14–16 °C: 9 records
16–18 °C: 0 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 5 records
22–24 °C: 12 records
24–26 °C: 1 records
26–28 °C: 3 records

Names and classification

English: Grimaldi scaled squid, Scaly squid, Grimaldi’s soft-scaled squid, Grimald's Scaled Squid, scaly squid

Names in 5 more languages

German: Schuppenkalmar
Spanish: Luria escamuda blanda de Grimaldi
French: Loutène écaille-doux de Grimaldi
Japanese: ウロコイカ
Thai: ปลาหมึกเกล็ด

Other scientific names: Enoptroteuthis spinicauda

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).
44 open-data records from 1914 to 2024.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

Log what you see on your next dive

The free DiveHive diver app keeps your logbook with every sighting and shows what lives at the site you dive next.

Join the waitlist