CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Hooked squid

family of molluscs

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 29, 2026
Entity authorityQ3202623
Source-derived summary

The hooked squid, family Onychoteuthidae, currently comprise about 20–25 species (several known from only single life stages and thus unconfirmed), in six or seven genera. They range in mature mantle length from 7 cm (2.8 in) to a suggested length of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) for the largest member, Onykia robusta. The family is characterised by the presence of hooks only on the tentacular clubs, a simple, straight, funnel–mantle locking apparatus, and a 'step' inside the jaw angle of the lower beak. With the exception of the Arctic Ocean, the family is found worldwide.

Species

Genus Onychoteuthis Lichtenstein, 1818

Onychoteuthis banksii (Leach, 1817) – common clubhook squid

Onychoteuthis bergii* Lichtenstein, 1818

Onychoteuthis mollis* Appelloef, 1891

Onychoteuthis compacta Berry, 1913

Onychoteuthis borealijaponica Okada, 1927 – boreal clubhook squid

Onychoteuthis meridiopacifica Rancurel & Okutani, 1990

Onychoteuthis lacrima Bolstad & Seki in Bolstad, 2008

Onychoteuthis prolata Bolstad, Vecchione & Young in Bolstad, 2008

Onychoteuthis horstkottei Bolstad, 2010

Genus Onykia Lesueur, 1821 (includes most species previously placed in Moroteuthis)

Subgenus Onykia

Onykia carriboea Lesueur, 1821 – tropical clubhook squid

Onykia robusta (Verrill, 1876) – robust clubhook squid

Onykia loennbergii (Ishikawa & Wakiya, 1914) – Japanese hooked squid

Onykia aequatorialis* Thiele, 1920

Onykia robsoni (Adam, 1962) – rugose hooked squid

Onykia indica* Okutani, 1981

incertae sedis

?Onykia appelloefi* Pfeffer, 1900

Genus Ancistroteuthis Gray, 1849

Ancistroteuthis lichtensteinii (Ferussac, 1835) – angel clubhook squid or angel squid

Genus Moroteuthopsis Pfeffer, 1908

Moroteuthopsis ingens (Smith, 1881) – greater hooked squid

Moroteuthopsis longimana Filippova, 1972

Genus Notonykia Nesis, Roeleveld & Nikitina, 1998

Notonykia africanae Nesis, Roeleveld & Nikitina, 1998

Notonykia nesisi Bolstad, 2007

Genus Filippovia Bolstad, 2010

Filippovia knipovitchi (Filippova, 1972) – smooth hooked squid

Genus Walvisteuthis Nesis & Nikitina, 1986

Walvisteuthis jeremiahi Vecchione, Sosnowski & Young, 2015

Walvisteuthis rancureli (Okutani, 1981)

Walvisteuthis virilis Nesis & Nikitina, 1986

Walvisteuthis youngorum (Bolstad, 2010)

(*) indicates taxa requiring further taxonomic investigation

References

Bolstad, K.S.R. 2008. Systematics of the Onychoteuthidae Gray, 1847 (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine. Doctoral thesis.

Bolstad, K.S.R. 2010. Systematics of the Onychoteuthidae Gray, 1847 (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida). Zootaxa 2696: 1–186.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Hooked squid” is family of molluscs. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Hooked, squid and family, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA practical starting point whose main value is the path it opens into stronger specialist and primary sources. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1818, 1817, 1891, 1913—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Hooked, squid and family is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “family of molluscs” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 29, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q3202623. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1818, 1817, 1891 and 1913.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Hooked squid”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Hooked squid primary sources, Hooked squid archive and Hooked research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Hooked squid”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Hooked squid” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.