[2] Populations in the north of the range differ from those in the south in the arrangement of the suckers on the male's right ventral arms.

[2][3] Uroteuthis noctiluca is found in shallow waters on the eastern coast of Australia, its range extending from southern Queensland to Tasmania.

[3] This small squid is short-lived, surviving for about seventy days in tropical waters but rather longer than this in the temperate south of its range.

The photophores on its underside can be partially revealed to provide camouflage at night by concealing the squid's silhouette from below, the light output being varied to match the moonlight or starlight.

The male's specially adapted hectocotylis arm is likely to be used to deposit a spermatophore in the female's mantle, or to clear out sperm from a previous mating.