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Containing group: Abralia

Introduction

A. astrosticta is a relatively large species in the genus attaining 70mm DML. It is characterized five large, silvery, eye photophores, large terminal photophores on Arms IV, and paired caudal photophores. This species is a component of mesopelagic boundary community in Hawaiian waters (Reid et al., 1991).

Characteristics

1. Tentacle clubs
   1. About four hooks on ventral side.
   2. Two rows of large suckers on dorsal side of manus.
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2. Hectocotylus
   1. Right ventral arm of male hectocotylized.
   2. Hectocotylus with two subequal sized off-set flaps.
3. Eye Photophores
   1. Five large silvery organs subequal in size.
4. Integumental Photophores
   1. Ventral mantle with scattered arrangement of organs.
   2. Ventral head with three indistinct, longitudinal stripes of organs.
5. Terminal Arm Photophores
   1. Arm IV with four large ovoidal photophores at tip.
   2. Terminal suckers lost on oral side of organs in both sexes.
   image info
6. Caudal Photophores
   1. At the mantle apex, a pair of ovoidal photophores is buried in the tissue.
   image info

Comment

This species shares some peculiar features with A. astrolineata.

1. Arms IV with large ovoidal photophores buried in the tissue at the tip.
2. A pair of photophores buried in the tissue of mantle apex.

Former feature is superficially quite similar to the arrangement in genus Abraliopsis. The latter character is unique in these two species among enoploteuthids.

Life history

Paralarvae

Paralarva of present species is characterized by:

1. Chromatophore pattern on dorsal mantle with many midline chromatophores; chromatophore band III on ventral mantle complete.
2. Integumental photophores very large.
3. A pair of subintegumental photophores at the posteior end of mantle, which appears at 3.2mm ML.

(Young and Harman, 1985)

Distribution

Vertical distribution

A. astrosticta is a member of the mesopelagic boundary community in Hawaiian waters (Reid et al., 1991; Young, 1995). Adult specimens were caught at the bottom in 110 and 180m in Hawaii by gillnet and shrimp trawl. Juveniles were caught between 10 and 130m deep at night near Hawaii by pelagic trawls (Young, 1978).

Geographical distribution

This species was first described from Hawaiian waters. Distribution of the species includes the Ryukyu Islands (Tsuchiya, 1993), the Philippine Sea (Nesis and Nikitina, 1988), Hawaiian waters (Young, 1978; Burgess, 1992), New Zealand and western North Australia (Riddell, 1985; Lu and Philipps, 1985), and eastern North Australia.

References

Burgess, L.A. 1992.

Lu and Philipps, 1985.

Nesis and nikitina, 1988.

Reid et al., 1991.

Tsuchiya, K. 1993.

Young, R.E. 1978.

Young, R.E. 1995. Aspects of the natural history of pelagic cephalopods of the Hawaiian mesopelagic-boundary region. Pacific Science, 49:143-155.