Best Ommastrephidae

Todarodes sagittatus, the European flying squid, is the largest ommastrephid squid in the northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, supporting significant fisheries around southern Europe.

Gould's flying squid native to southern Australian waters; a commercially important ommastrephid and key prey for seabirds, fur seals, and pelagic fish such as tuna.

Ommastrephes bartramii, the neon flying squid, is a large oceanic ommastrephid distributed across subtropical and temperate oceans worldwide and targeted by Pacific squid fisheries.

Dosidicus gigas, the Humboldt squid, is a large aggressive predator of the eastern Pacific's Humboldt Current, reaching 1.5 m and caught in major South American fisheries.

Purpleback flying squid of the Indo-Pacific; one of the largest ommastrephids, capable of brief aerial gliding, with documented mantle lengths exceeding 60 cm.

Wellington flying squid native to New Zealand and southern Australian waters; a major commercial ommastrephid supporting one of New Zealand's largest invertebrate fisheries.

Atlantic flying squid of tropical and subtropical waters; capable of leaping and gliding briefly through the air to escape predators, a behavior shared with few other cephalopods.

Illex argentinus, the Argentine shortfin squid, is one of the world's highest-volume commercial squid species, harvested extensively in the southwest Atlantic off Patagonia.

Antarctic flying squid inhabiting subantarctic Southern Ocean waters; a large ommastrephid reaching around 90 cm mantle length and targeted by commercial fisheries.

Sevenstar flying squid of the Southern Ocean and Subantarctic; an ommastrephid forming a major dietary item for sperm whales, wandering albatrosses, and Patagonian toothfish.

Illex illecebrosus, the northern shortfin squid, is a commercially important species in the northwest Atlantic, ranging seasonally from Newfoundland to Florida.

Luminous flying squid of the Indo-Pacific; an ommastrephid distinguished by conspicuous ventral photophores that produce bioluminescent light, giving it a glowing appearance.

Hawaiian flying squid of the central Pacific around the Hawaiian archipelago; a small ommastrephid distinguished from its congeners by its exclusively tropical distribution.

Lesser flying squid of the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea; the sole species in genus Todaropsis and a small ommastrephid taken incidentally by European fisheries.

Indo-Pacific bird squid distributed across tropical and subtropical waters from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific; an ommastrephid playing a significant role in oceanic food webs.

Caribbean bird squid of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic; a mid-sized ommastrephid named for its Antillean range and regularly taken as bycatch in swordfish longline fisheries.

Illex coindetii, the broadtail shortfin squid, is a small ommastrephid squid distributed across the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean with minor commercial significance.

Glassy flying squid of the open Atlantic and Indo-Pacific; a small, semi-transparent ommastrephid notable for its highly gelatinous body and oceanic epipelagic lifestyle.