Distribution, biology, and stomach contents of papernautilus (Argonauta hians) in the Andaman Sea

摘要

Paper nautilus (Argonauta hians) were collected from fish markets and the bycatch of purse seiners operatingin the Andaman Sea, Thailand. All specimens were mature females with egg cases with developing eggs inside. Thedistribution of paper nautilus was found between 7°30'24"-8°13'22" N and 97°01'50"-98°55'48" E around Phangnga,Phuket, and Krabi provinces, south of Thailand. All the specimens were female with average shell size of 20.6 ± 5.4 mm,average mantle length of 31.0 ± 6.5 mm, and average body weight of 6.4 ± 3.6 g. The relationship between mantle length(ML, mm) and fecundity is expressed as Fe = 268ML – 4428 (R~2= 0.44,p <0.05, n = 368) and between weight(W,g) and fecundity is Fe = 538W + 573 (R~2=0.50,p <0.05, n=368). The average fecundity of paper nautilus was4160 ± 1770 eggs/batch, with high fecundities observed during the months of January, February, and December. Length at50% maturity was estimated to be 20.1 mm (mantle length), whereas 27.5 mm would be the estimated length for a fullymatured female. The stomach of A. hians contained crustaceans, cephalopods, and fish.