Progress towards ageing cuttlefish Sepia hierredda from the northwestern African coast using statoliths
1994; Inter-Research; Volume: 114; Linguagem: Inglês
10.3354/meps114139
ISSN1616-1599
AutoresC.P. Raya, Miriam Fernández-Núñez, Eduardo Balguerías, C.L. Hernández-González,
Tópico(s)Cephalopods and Marine Biology
ResumoThe cephalopod fishery in Eastern Central Atlantic waters, from Cape Blanc (21°N) to Cape Bojador (26" N), is economically very important for Spain, due to the high commercial values on the international market of the main species caught.octopus O c t o p ~~s vulgarjs Cuvier, 1797, cuttlefish Sepia hierredda Rang, 1837 and squid Loljgo rlulgaris Lamarck, 1798.After octopus, S. hie]-redda is the most important species for this f~shery.For cuttlefish stock assessment, it is necessary to elucidate a key aspect of its biology, namely growth.In 1992, in order to view growth increments, statoliths were embedded in a clear fast-drying resin, and their surfaces were ground and polished Some were etched.Several mounting posltlons were analyzed, of \vh~ch 2 were chosen for the study In polished statolith surfaces, thin growth increments were observed and assumed to be daily structures, because of their regular pattern and by analogy with validated results on the families Loliginidae.Ommastrephidae (order Teuthoidea) and ldiosepiidae (order Sepioidea).Thicker and more widely spaced growth rings were also observed and their periodicity is discussed.As this is the first study on the ageing of cuttlefish off the northwestern African coast using microincrements of statoliths, the results have not yet been validated.However, these hard parts seem to be very useful tools for direct age determination of cuttlefish (family Sepiidae) and of S. hjerredda in particular, as they reveal much information concerning individual growth.
Referência(s)