Cephalopods from the Netherlands Indian Ocean Programme (NIOP) (Expeditions 1992-1993)

Cephalopods of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and the Western Indian ocean off Somalia are studied. A preliminary annotated list is presented. This study was based on the examination of 381 specimens captured with a Rectangular Midwater Trawl (RMT8) during three cruises of the Netherlands Indian Ocean Programme. The taxa identified represent: 22 families, 35 genera and 56 species. Two species new to science are found. Systematic position and taxonomic re-evaluation in the Chiroteuthidae, Mastigoteuthidae and Octopodidae is briefly discussed. The present collections represent a valuable contribution to the species composition from the Western Indian Ocean and to cephalopod juvenile morphology.