Idiosepius pygmaeus
Species of mollusc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Idiosepius pygmaeus, also known as the two-toned pygmy squid or tropical pygmy squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the Indo-Pacific. It resides in the South China Sea, Japan, Philippines, Palau, Indonesia, the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as northern and northeastern Australia. The squid traditionally inhabits shallow, inshore waters.[3][4]
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| Idiosepius pygmaeus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Adult | |
 | |
| Hatchlings (c. 2 mm long) stained with phosphotungstic acid (left) and Lugol's iodine (right) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Idiosepida |
| Family: | Idiosepiidae |
| Genus: | Idiosepius |
| Species: | I. pygmaeus |
| Binomial name | |
| Idiosepius pygmaeus Steenstrup, 1881[2] | |
I. pygmaeus weighs 0.00033 g upon hatching and increases in weight to 0.175 g as it reaches maturity in 50 days (1260 degree days). The squid prefers waters at a temperature of 25.2 °C. Growth rate has been calculated as 12.55 and physiological growth rate as 0.498.[5]
I. pygmaeus grows to a mantle length of 20 mm.[3]
This species eats glass shrimp (Acetes sibogae australis) in the laboratory.[6]
The type specimen was collected in the South China Sea (04°20′N 107°20′E) and is deposited at the Zoologisk Museum of Kobenhavns Universitet in Copenhagen.[7]
Habitat
I. pygmaeus is heavily concentrated in seagrass meadows. They are known to attach to seagrass using a special organ that supports adhesion. However, human activities have disturbed seagrass meadows. This habitat used for shelter by organisms such as Idiosepius is threatened.[3][8]
