Source - Journal of Northwest Atlantic Fishery Science, Volume 3(1): 41-45
ISSN-0250-7408

Development stages for artificially fertilized and naturally spawned eggs of Illex illecebrosus were observed and a staging scheme proposed which relates to earlier studies on naturally spawned eggs of Illex coindetii and artificially fertilized eggs of Todarodes pacificus. Photographs and descriptions of stages provide a reference for embryonic development of small ommastrephid eggs and an aid to the identification of egg masses of the species in nature, an essential step in understanding its life cycle. Embryonic development in Illex illecebrosus fails at temperatures below 12.5°C. and the development rate at 21°C is nearly twice that at 12.5°C. This temperature requirement restricts the spatial and temporal distribution of spawning in this squid, and temperature-related development rates allow prediction of the age of egg masses found in nature in water masses of a particular temperature.

Language - English
Publisher - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), Dartmouth, N.S., Canada
Publication Date - May 1982
Publication Type - Journal Article
Descriptors - eggs, spawning, squid, temperature