Todarodes pacificus pusillus new subspecies (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) from northern Australia

Abstract

A new squid subspecies, Todarodes pacificus pusillus, is described from northern Australian continental shelf and upper slope waters on the basis of morphological differences and apparent geographic isolation from northern hemisphere populations of T. pacificus Steenstrup, 1880. Basic life history information is presented. The subspecies reaches maturity at less than 80 mm mantle length compared with greater than 200 mm ML for T. pacificus from Japanese waters.