Loligo species are the common inshore squids of the eastern Atlantic Ocean. Several species are targets of substantial fisheries. Although the biology of some species of Loligo (e.g., L. vulgaris, L. reynaudii ) is among the best known of any cephalopod, considerable controversy remains about their taxonomy and systematic relationships.

The genus is defined by geography and the absence of specific modifications that define other genera.

Brief diagnosis:

A loliginid ...

• with rhomboidal fins in adults, longer than broad (length <70% of ML); mantle elongate; without photophores.
• with an Eastern Atlantic distribution.