Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

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Species Spirula spirula (Linnaeus, 1758)

Ram's Horn Squid


Compiler and date details

2022 - Updated by ABRS

2012 - Updated by Julian Finn, Museum Victoria, Carlton, Victoria, Australia

Introduction

Hoffmann et al. (2021) question whether there are more than one extant species in the genus Spirula, see Introduction to the genus. Thought to be restricted to tropical and subtropical oceanic waters where water temperature at 400 m is 10ºC or warmer, however Lindsay et al. (2020) observed an individual between 837–860 m depth at a height of ~1100 m above the seafloor on the continental slope of the far northern Great Barrier Reef, Queensland Australia where temperature was reported as 5.33C, salinity 34.44 ppt. (Lindsay et al. 2020)

 

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Western Australia


Extra Distribution Information

Circumtropical in oceanic waters near oceanic islands and the continental shelf where the water temperature at 400 m is 10ºC or warmer, however see Lindsay et al. (2020). Known distribution is patchy and confused by beach wash shell and whole animal records.


IBRA and IMCRA regions (map not available)

IMCRA

Central Eastern Province (12), Tasman Basin Province (13), Lord Howe Province (14), Central Eastern Transition (15), Kenn Transition (16), Kenn Province (17), Northeast Province (18), Northeast Transition (19), Timor Province (2), Cape Province (20), Norfolk Island Province (21), Cocos (Keeling) Island Province (22), Christmas Island Province (23), Northwest Transition (3), Northwest Province (4), Central Western Transition (5), Central Western Province (6), Southwest Transition (7)

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Oceanic, subtropical, temperate, tropical.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
16-Jun-2022 CEPHALOPODA 11-Feb-2023 MODIFIED
12-Nov-2013 SEPIIDA 04-Nov-2013 MODIFIED Dr Julian Finn (NMV)
24-Jan-2011 MODIFIED