BATHYPOLYPUS SPONSALIS (CEPHALOPODA: OCTOPODA) FROM THE CENTRAL WESTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA

A sample of 360 Bathypolypus sponsalis from the central western Mediterranean Sea (the Sardinian Channel and the Tyrrhenian Sea) was analysed in order to describe size, depth distribution and reproductive data. The first record of the species in the Tyrrhenian Sea and of a spent female are reported in this paper. The size-structure of the sample was in between values of documented data from the western and eastern Mediterranean basins and the minimum mature sizes in both sexes and spermatophore length were similar to previous data from the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Low values of gonadosomatic index and fecundity, the asynchronous ovulation, in addition to an extended reproductive period, have been associated with an intermittent spawning strategy.