First morphological description of an early stage paralarva of the sharpear enope squid Ancistrocheirus lesueurii from southeastern Arabian Sea is presented. The paralarva was collected at dusk by using surface tows of zooplankton nets in February 2012. The presence of paralarva A. lesueurii indicates that this species completes its life cycle in this sea. A comparison of the arm formula of paralarva and adult stages shows a major change in the formula during metamorphosis to adult.

Ancistrocheirus lesueurii, Arabian Sea, Thelidioteuthis alessandrinii, squid paralarvae, arm formula, Lakshadweep Archipelago, plankton.