Three types of rhynchoteuthion larvae and one of small juvenile ommastrephid were collected in 116 of 371 samples obtained in five surveys on the shelf of southern Brazil. The cruises were between Santa Marta Grande Cape (28°30'S) and Chui (34°40'S); one cruise in autumn 1980-1982, one in winter, and three in spring. Samples were collected with a bongo net of 0.33-mm mesh in oblique hauls from bottom to surface between the coast and approximately the 200-m isobath line. Juveniles and the type of larvae that accounted for over 90% of the total were identified as Illex argentinus. They were found mostly in winter and spring in association with the western boundary of the Brazil Current and Subtropical Waters and rarely with Coastal and Subantarctic Waters. Their abundance in southern Brazil may be explained by spawning in the region and northward transport of egg masses
