Total mercury (Hg) concentrations in beaks and muscle of the giant warty squid Moroteuthopsis longimana (Southern Ocean)

<p>In this study we used beaks and buccal masses (muscle) of the giant warty squid <em>Moroteuthopsis</em> <em>longimana</em> to evaluate if squid beaks can be used as a proxy for mercury (Hg) concentrations in the muscle. Beaks and respective buccal masses were collected from the diet of Antarctic toothfish <em>Dissostichus mawsoni </em>captured at the South Sandwich Islands (Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean; CCAMLR Subarea 48.4) in 2019 (ML1 to ML12) and 2020 (ML13 to ML21).</p> <p>We analysed Total Hg concentrations in the wing of the lower beak, hood tip of the upper beak, both upper and lower beaks, and in muscle sampled from buccal masses.</p> <p>This dataset includes the size of the beaks, the estimated mantle length, the estimated mass, and total Hg concentrations analysed in beaks and buccle mass in 21 individuals of <em>M. longimana</em>.</p> <p>This dataset is associated with the article: Lopes-Santos S, Xavier JC, Seco J, Coelho JP, Hollyman PR, Pereira E, Phillips RA, Queir&oacute;s JP (2025) Squid beaks as a proxy for mercury concentrations in muscle of the giant warty squid&nbsp;<em>Moroteuthopsis longimana</em>. Marine Environmental Research 204:106841. Doi 10.1016/j.marenvres.2024.106841</p>