REEXAMINATION OF GROWTH-ESTIMATES IN OCEANIC SQUIDS - THE CASE OF KONDAKOVIA-LONGIMANA (ONYCHOTEUTHIDAE)

Earlier work by the second author on the growth of oceanic squids, based on size- frequency distributions of beaks sampled from sperm whale stomachs and on structural marks on those beaks, showed that these squids apparently had growth rates far in excess of those reported for the fastest-growing fishes, e.g. bluefin tuna. The application of recently developed methods for analysis of length-frequency distributions to some of these earlier data, and new approaches for assessing and comparing the growth performance of fish and aquatic invertebrates, suggest the need for a downward revision of these high growth estimates. This is illustrated here with data on Kondakovia longimana (Cephalopoda, Onychoteuthidae) sampled off Durban and Donkergat, South Africa, in the early to mid-1960s. © 1991 Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer.