Helicocranchia pfefferi

Helicocranchia pfefferi, the banded piglet squid, is a small squid of the genus Helicocranchia. Adults of this species are mesopelagic.

Banded piglet squid
Ventral view of a specimen taken off Southern California (41 mm ML)
Conservation status
Data Deficient  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Cranchiidae
Subfamily:	Taoniinae
Genus:	Helicocranchia
Species:	H. pfefferi
Binomial name
Helicocranchia pfefferi Massy, 1907[2]
Synonyms
Helicocranchia beebei Robson, 1948

Physical characteristics

The average size of adult H. pfefferi is 100 mm (3.9 in) in mantle length (ML). The body consists of a large funnel with small paddle-like fins. They have small tentacles above their eyes. The funnel does not have valves, but contains a dorsal pad with three papillae as organs.^{[citation needed]} Paddle-shaped fins are attached to a part of the gladius. H. pfefferi has a single ocular photophore and does not have photophores at its arm tips.

Habitat

H. pfefferi can be found in subtropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean.^[3] As paralarvae (<30 mm ML), they live near the surface of the oceans, between 100 m and 200 m deep. They descend to the mesopelagic zone as they mature, but exhibit a diel vertical migration pattern.^[4]

Prey

Its diet resembles that of most squid: fish, shrimp, and squid.