Caribbean Clubhook Squid

Onykia carriboea

Cephalopods
IUCN: Data deficient

Usual depth0–730 m
Water temperature4–27 °C
Best monthsFebruary and March
How commonRare

About this species

Onykia carriboea, the tropical clubhook squid, is a squid in the family Onychoteuthidae, the type species of the genus Onykia. It is known with certainty only from immature specimens. The type locality of O. carriboea is the Gulf of Mexico. Onykia robsoni has been suggested as a junior synonym, owing to similarities between the species.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Onykia carriboea”, 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: 6 records
February: 16 records
March: 11 records
April: 7 records
May: 1 records
June: 3 records
July: 2 records
August: 9 records
September: 5 records
October: 0 records
November: 3 records
December: 4 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 0–730 m · Deepest record: 3,162 m

0–10 m: 6 records
10–20 m: 2 records
20–30 m: 0 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 4 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 24 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 4–27 °C

4–6 °C: 1 records
6–8 °C: 0 records
8–10 °C: 0 records
10–12 °C: 8 records
12–14 °C: 1 records
14–16 °C: 4 records
16–18 °C: 6 records
18–20 °C: 9 records
20–22 °C: 16 records
22–24 °C: 32 records
24–26 °C: 3 records
26–28 °C: 9 records

Names and classification

English: Caribbean Clubhook Squid, Tropical Clubhook Squid

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Luria ganchuda del Caribe
French: Cornet crochu de Caraibes
Thai: ปลาหมึกมือตะขอแคริบเบียน

Other scientific names: Loligo plagioptera, Onychia binotata, Onychia caribaea, Onykia caribbaea, Onykia carribaea, Sepiola cardioptera, Teleoteuthis agilis

Similar species

Rugose Clubhook Squid
Onykia robsoni
Onykia lonnbergii
Greater clubhook squid
Moroteuthopsis ingens
Clawed calamary squid
Onychoteuthis banksii
African Hooked-squid
Notonykia africanae
Nesis's Clubhook Squid
Notonykia nesisi

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).
90 open-data records from 1884 to 2023.
Species data updated November 5, 2026.

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