African Hooked-squid
Notonykia africanae
- Usual depth60–911 m
- Water temperature10–18 °C
- Best monthsJanuary and February
- How commonRare
About this species
Notonykia africanae, the African clubhook-squid, is a species of squid in the family Onychoteuthidae. It is the type species of the genus Notonykia. While the mature size of the species is unknown, it is known to reach a mantle length of at least 180 mm. Tentacles reach approximately 70% of the mantle length, and contain 14–20 club hooks. Arms are known to reach 27–45% and 33–55% of the mantle length; each containing 50–60 suckers. The species is located in southern waters off Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand and South Africa.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Notonykia africanae”, 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: 11 records
- February: 10 records
- March: 0 records
- April: 3 records
- May: 0 records
- June: 0 records
- July: 0 records
- August: 0 records
- September: 1 records
- October: 0 records
- November: 0 records
- December: 0 records
Depth and water temperature
Depth
Mostly recorded at 60–911 m · Deepest record: 1,052.5 m
Water temperature
Recorded in surface water of 10–18 °C
Names and classification
- English
- African Hooked-squid, African Hooked Squid
Names in 1 more languages
- Japanese
- ツメイカモドキ
Similar species
- Nesis's Clubhook Squid
Notonykia nesisi
Greater clubhook squidMoroteuthopsis ingens
- Clawed calamary squid
Onychoteuthis banksii
- Rugose Clubhook Squid
Onykia robsoni
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).
- 67 open-data records from 1985 to 2014.
- Species data updated November 5, 2026.
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