PRELIMINARY NOTES ON THE DIET OF LAMPRIS GUTTATUS (BRÜNNICH, 1788) IN THE SOUTHERN LIGURIAN SEA

Abstract

Stomach contents of 2 opah L. guttatus collected in the southern Ligurian Sea were analyzed. Remains were found highly digested, mostly consisting on chitinous mandibles (beaks) of cephalopods. Preliminary results on feeding habits of opah in the Mediterranean Sea show essentially the presence of nektonic prey distributed in the water column. They were mainly meso-batypelagic cephalopods species, with a great abundance of armed helmet squid Galiteuthis armata, which is considered a cephalopod rare species in the Mediterranean Sea.