A specimen
of the neon flying squid
Ommastrephes bartramii
(LeSueur, 1821) was caught using a surface longline in
the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean in October 2007. The animal was frozen whole on board and landed
in Vigo, where it was defrosted and examined. The squid represents the largest specimen of this species
yet recorded, with a mantle length of 102 cm (30+ kg), compared to the recorded maximum of 80 cm (25
kg). The specimen was a mature female, with an ovary weight of around 500 g. There appeared to be
spermatangia stored in the buccal membrane. Its stomach contents included beaks of ommastrephid
cephalopods and bones of a mackerel-like (scombrid) fish. Age of the animal is also studied
