Oceanic cephalopods from northeastern Brazilian exclusive economic zone

Abstract

An annotated list of 30 cephalopod taxa from northeastern Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, 23 of them to the species level, is presented. A total of 3,662 cephalopods, belonging to 19 families, provenient from stomach contents of 1,944 pelagic fish and 174 marine bird (regurgitated material), and also from midwater trawl surveys were identified. The representative families were Alloposidae, Argonautidae, Bolitaenidae, Brachioteuthidae, Chiroteuthidae, Cranchiidae, Enoploteuthidae, Histioteuthidae, Lepidoteuthidae, Ommastrephidae, Onychoteuthidae, Octopoteuthidae, Octopodidae, Ocythoidae, Spirulidae, Thysanoteuthidae, Tremoctopodidae, Vampyroteuthidae, and Vitreledonellidae. The families Ommastrephidae, Enoploteuthidae, Histioteuthidae, and Cranchiidae represented together 87.8% in number of the total cephalopods, with remark to Ommastrephidae with 61.8% of the total.