📸 PhotoPhoto: Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Bigfin reef squid
Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Bigfin reef squid · アオリイカ)
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 The length of large individuals at 500 mm is about one and a half 30 cm rulers (Comparison).
- 💡 Its average weight of 400 g is similar to a block of tofu (about 300–400 g) (Comparison).
- 💡 It is commonly caught by angling in Jeju Island and is one of the most commercially important squids, used for both food and bait (National List of Species of Korea; ADW positive impacts for humans).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.
📖 1. Overview
The bigfin reef squid is a large squid living in warm coastal waters and is commonly caught by angling in Jeju Island.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its mantle is cone-shaped with a blunt tip. Its internal shell (gladius) inside the mantle is barely developed, forming a thin, transparent sheet.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
It is a carnivorous animal that rises to shallow waters at night to prey on fish and mollusks. From spring to summer, it attaches eggs to seaweed beds or rock crevices in shallow water; its lifespan is usually 1 year, and adults die after spawning.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea as Huin-kkolttugi (Korean name) and is widely known as Munui-ojingeo (Korean name). It lives in Jeju Island, the South Sea, the East Sea, and the southern Yellow Sea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List DD (2019) — https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/163376
- • IUCN Red List category DD — latest assessment at iucnredlist.org
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • iucnredlist.org — 163376
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000044166 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000044166
- • wikidata.org — Q1870469
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Calamar de arrecifes (Sepioteuthis lessoniana), Nosy Ir
- • species.nibr.go.kr — mainHome.do
- • animaldiversity.org — Sepioteuthis lessoniana
- • sealifebase.se — Sepioteuthis-lessoniana.html
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — Cagri Cevrim · CC0 1.0 (Related taxon silhouette — Loligo vulgaris)
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.