SEPIOLINAE (MOLLUSCA, CEPHALOPODA) FROM THE STRAIT OF SICILY

Nine species belonging to three genera of the subfamily Sepiolinae (Le ach, 1817) were collected in the Strait of Sicily by two series of bot tom trawl surveys carried out during the years 1985-87 and 1992: Sepio la rondeletii, Sepiola intermedia, Sepiola ligulata, Sepiola robusta, Sepiola affinis, Sepietta oweniana, Sepietta neglecta, Sepietta obscur a and Rondeletiola minor. For each species, abundance, distribution, s ex ratio and maturity condition were analysed. S. oweniana was the mos t abundant species, followed by R. minor, while the single record of S . ligulata indicates that the species is rare in the area. The bathyme tric distributions observed generally agree with what is known for the species from the literature, but present data support the extension o f the bathymetric range inhabited by S. robusta (down to 498 m). Matur e specimens represented 81.8% of the examined sample, and no substanti al differences in the percentages of mature individuals with sea son w as noticeable; this supports the existence of an extended reproductive period in the Sepiolines.