Preliminary observations on the relationships between beaks and body size in Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck,1798) from the Southern Tyrrhenian sea

Beaks of 104 specimens of Eledone cirrhosa (Cephalopoda, Octopoda) caught in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea were studied. Relationships between several measurement of the upper and lower beaks and dorsal mantle length (DML) were computed. Except for the hood of the lower beak, the growth of both beaks was allometrically negative, in relation to DML in males, while the growth of some parts of both beaks of females and juveniles was allometrically positive. The hood of both beaks grew faster than any other parts of the beak in males and females and faster than any part of the upper beak of juveniles.