Afrokalamaron - European flying squid
Name - Origin
It has large eyes, a transparent and elongated horned shell and a mouth flanked by a "beak" for chopping food. It is reddishbrown to violet-brown in colour, while its body is speckled with small reddish-brown and violet dots. It lives in herds, usually in the sea. It swims slowly using its fins, but also swims fast by spraying water and thus giving its body a boost. It sometimes jumps over the water. When in danger it shoots ink creating a blur of water. It lays its eggs in a slimy substance" (Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 3, entry αφροκαλάμαρον,το, 93).
Scientific name: Todarodes sagittatus, a species of cephalopods, the type species of the genus Todarodes, the type genus of the subfamily Todarodinae of the pelagic squid family Ommastrephidae. (Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 3, entry αφροκαλάμαρον,το, 93)
Afrokalamaro is caught with nets, trawls, speargun, fishing lamp, jig (Great Cypriot Encyclopedia, vol. 3, entry αφροκαλάμαρον,το, 93). It is consumed fried or grilled (Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 3, entry αφροκαλάμαρον,το, 93).
Additional information and bibliography
Pavlides A. (ed.) (1985), Great Encyclopedia of Cyprus, vol. 3, Filokypros, Nicosia.
Kyriaki Panteli, Argyro Xenophontos
Foods
Fishing and fish dishes
In recent years, in Cyprus, fish was served as follows: oftá (chargrilled), fried, hoglastá (boiled), savóro (marinated), plakí (in the oven) and yahní (in tomato sauce).