Bigfin reef squid

Sepioteuthis lessoniana

Cephalopods
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–89 m
Water temperature19–29 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonOccasional

Photo credit: (c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Sepioteuthis lessoniana, commonly known as the bigfin reef squid, tiger squid, glitter squid, oval squid, or northern calamari, is a species complex in the loliginid squid family. It is one of the three currently recognized species belonging to the genus Sepioteuthis. Studies in 1993, however, have indicated that bigfin reef squids may comprise several cryptic species, that are very similar and closely related.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Bigfin reef squid”, 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: 153 records
February: 146 records
March: 185 records
April: 190 records
May: 196 records
June: 209 records
July: 233 records
August: 237 records
September: 236 records
October: 182 records
November: 175 records
December: 151 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–89 m · Deepest record: 287 m

0–10 m: 15 records
10–20 m: 4 records
20–30 m: 1 records
30–40 m: 3 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 1 records
70–80 m: 4 records
80–90 m: 3 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records
110+ m: 2 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C

18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 4 records
24–26 °C: 15 records
26–28 °C: 16 records
28–30 °C: 50 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Gergely Nigg, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ewout Knoester, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
(c) Jay Paroline, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) portioid, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Auradyme, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Bigfin reef squid, bigfin reef squid

Names in 3 more languages

German: Großflossen-Riffkalmar, Großflossen-Sepiakalmar
Japanese: アオリイカ
Simplified Chinese: Lái-Shì-Nĭ-Wu-Zéi

Other scientific names: Sepioteuthis arctipinnis, Sepioteuthis brevis, Sepioteuthis dorensis, Sepioteuthis guinensis, Sepioteuthis hemprichii, Sepioteuthis indica, Sepioteuthis krempfi, Sepioteuthis lunulata, Sepioteuthis malayana, Sepioteuthis mauritiana, Sepioteuthis neoguinaica, Sepioteuthis sieboldi, Sepioteuthis sinensis

Similar species

Bartsch's squid
Uroteuthis bartschi
Indian Squid
Uroteuthis duvaucelii
Long Barrel Squid
Uroteuthis singhalensis

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).
233 open-data records from 1830 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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