Heavy metal concentrations in tissues of short-finned squid Illex coindetii (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) (Vérany,1839) in Iskenderun Bay,North-Eastern Mediterranean

Metal levels (cd,cr,cu,fe,mn,pb and zn) in the gill,digestive gland,arm and mantle of female and male short-finned squid (illex coindetii) in iskenderun bay were investigated. all elements differed in accumulation in tissues and sex significantly (p<0.05). concentrations of cd in the tissues of male and female shortfinned squid samples ranged between 0.68-9.51 μg/g. cu concentrations in all tissues were found and ranged between 5.97 and 324.1 μg/g. fe concentrations in the mantle of female and male samples were found 9.13 and 9.83 μg/g,respectively. pb concentrations in the mantles of female and male samples were found between 1.49-2.37 μg/g. the highest zn concentrations in hepatopancreas of male and female samples were found 85.29 and 66.8 μg/g respectively (p<0.05). in the mantle tissue of i. coindetii,metal levels independent of sex were in the following order: zn > cu > fe > pb > mn > cd > cr. in accordance with limit values,the present study found out that the mantle tissue of cuttlefish,i. coindetii,was overlimited with cd and pb. copyright © 2015 zoological society of pakistan.