A NOTE ON THE OCCURRENCE AND HABITS OF A LUMINOUS SQUID (ABRALIA VERANYI) AT MADEIRA

¹ REDLANDS, CALIFORNIA

1. Abralia veranyi (Rüppell) is a somewhat rarely captured Mediterranean cephalopod, possessing interesting luminous qualities due to the presence of numerous and exceedingly complicated photogenic organs.

2. It is here reported from the Bay of Funchal, Madeira, this constituting, it is believed, the first record of the species from the open Atlantic.

3. The specimens appear to differ in only very minor respects if at all from those of Mediterranean origin.

4. The species comes into the shallow water of the harbor at night during the summer months, supposedly for the purpose of mating, spawning, or both.

5. Owing to their comparative abundance at this time of year and the ease with which they may be observed and captured, Funchal is evidently an unusually favorable locality for the study of the light production or general bionomics of this interesting little squid.