Firefly squid: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the firefly squid lives – recorded in 1 country, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Watasenia scintillans
Group	Octopuses, squid & cuttlefish
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	1 country
Continents	Asia
Class	Cephalopod
Order	Oegopsida
Family	Enoploteuthidae

Where does the firefly squid live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the firefly squid in 1 country or territory across Asia.

Japan

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

Is the firefly squid endangered?

The firefly squid’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the firefly squid?

The firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans) is a cephalopod in the order Oegopsida and the family Enoploteuthidae, genus Watasenia. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the firefly squid

The firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans), also commonly known as the sparkling enope squid or hotaru-ika in Japan, is a species of squid in the family Enoploteuthidae. W. scintillans is the sole species in the monotypic genus Watasenia.

These tiny squid are found on the shores of Japan in springtime during spawning season, but spend most of their lives in deeper waters between 200 and 400 metres (700 and 1,300 feet; 100 and 200 fathoms). They are bioluminescent organisms and emit blue light from photophores, which some scientists have hypothesized could be used for communication, camouflage, or attracting food, but it is still unclear in the scientific community exactly how this species uses their bioluminescence.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Firefly squid (revision 1369775250), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q303718 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).