The hear shape of the fins is produced by their convex anterior ends and then their narrowing posterior edges which become part of the pointed tail.

It undertakes seasonal migrations between offshore and coastal waters, similar to other neritic species of squid.

[6] Recent molecular analyses suggest that Alloteuthis media and A. subulata may be conspecific and that they are the extreme ends of a morphological gradient.

[4] In which case the name Alloteuthis media applied by Carl Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 would have priority over Jean Baptiste Lamarck's A. subulata which dates from 1798.

[2] However, further analyses suggest that these are indeed two sister species which can be reliably separated by the size of the central suckers of the tentacular club and that in fact there is a genetic divergence between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean populations of A.

In the western Mediterranean it is actively fished for in a trawl fishery and in the winter it is captured at depths of 150m to 200m and from between 50m and 150m in spring, summer and autumn.

Commercial interest in this species varies according to location and the catch is marketed in both fresh and frozen forms.