(d'Orbigny, 1839)
Description:
Body is ovoid and stout; maximum total body-length 65 mm. Dorsal anterior edge of mantle is fused to dorsal surface of head between eyes. Fins are thin and delicate, oval, as broad as body at point of attachment. Dorsal pair of arms linked proximally by a membrane, the cleft between them being noticeably shorter than between other arms. Left dorsal arm of male is greatly widened distal to copulatory apparatus; there are two large suckers followed by 2-4 small and then again two large suckers in dorsal row distal to copulatory apparatus; suckers are then gradually diminishing in size distally. Horn of copulatory apparatus is long, over half of arm width, twisted. Tentacle club with up to 30 rows of very small suckers, dorsal suckers are not larger than the ventral suckers.
Habitat:
Shelf (mainly outer) and upper bathyal.
Distribution:
From western Norway and the Faeroe Islands to the Mediterranean Sea, Madeira and Mauritania. Uncommon, not in the southern North Sea (Distr. S. oweniana).