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Abralia multihamata Sasaki 1929

Kotaro Tsuchiya
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Containing group: Abralia

Introduction

A. multihamata is a species endemic to the shelf waters along the south of Sagami Bay, Japan to Taiwan and off Papua New Guinea. It is characterized by the scattered arrangement of ventral mantle photophores, six club hooks, and more than five eye photophores of two types. The taxonomic status with A. spaercki is problematic.

Sasaki's specimens  of A. multihamata ranged from 25-32 mm ML. Voss (1963) described A. lucens from specimens that ranged from 43-62 mm ML.  The title illustrations show a 35 mm ML A. multihamata and a 62 mm ML A. lucens. The two look very different.  Tsuchiya and Okutani (1988) suggest this difference is due to growth and A. lucens is included here as a junior synonym of A. multihamata. This status, however, needs confirmation.

Characteristics

 
  1. Tentacle club
    1. About six hooks on ventral side.
    2. Two rows of large suckers on dorsal side.
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    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Oral view of the tentacular club of A. multihamata, Sagami Bay. Drawing from Tsuchiya (2000).

  2. Hectocotylus
    1. Right ventral arm of male hectocotylized.
    2. Hectocotylus with two different-sized offset flaps.
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    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Oral view of the distal portion of the hectocotylus of A. multihamata, Sagami Bay. Drawing from Tsuchiya (2000).

  3. Eye Photophores
    1. Five major organs: two large opaque, terminal organs and three intermediate silvery organs; small silvery additional organs present.

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    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Ventrolateral view of the ocular photophores of A. multihamata, male, Japanese waters. Drawing from Sasaki (1929).

  4. Integument Photophores
    1. Ventral mantle with scattered arrangement of integumental organs.
    2. Ventral head with indistinct striped arrangement of integumental organs.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral view of the head photophores of A. multihamata, male, Japanese waters.Drawing from Sasaki (1929).

  5. Reproductive structures
    1. Spermatangia receptacles. Receptacles are located underneath the dorsal collar on either side of the nuchal cartilage.  Pigment marking the receptacles is visible through the muscular walls of the collar. Within the collar pocket is an inner muscular (?) lid that carries the pigment seen externally. The spermatangia seem to attach beneath the inner lid where it joins the lateral wall of the nuchal cartilage.
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Spermatangia receptacles of A. multihamata. Left - Dorsal view with the mantle reflected posteriorly showing the collars on either side of the dorsal rim of the nuchal cartilage. The white arrow points to the pigmented inner lid of one of the two receptacles. Right - Dorsolateral view with one collar cut and its dorsal portion folded upward (and impaled by a dissecting pin) revealing the edge of the inner lid and the spermatangia beneath it which seem to be encased in a mucous mass.

Life history

Spent specimens are collected in large number from the East China Sea in October by bottom trawl.

Distribution

Vertical distribution

A. multihamata is possibly bottom associated or mesopelagic boundary species. Specimens were collected by bottom trawl from the East China Sea.

Geographical distribution

This species was first described from Taiwan waters. It is distributed in shelf waters of the East China Sea, northward to Sagami Bay and the eastern sector of the Japan Sea. It is also found in the South Pacific off Papua New Guinea.

References

Sasaki, M. 1929. A Monograph of the Dibranchiate Cephalopods of the Japanese and Adjacent Waters. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University,357 pp.

Tsuchiya, K. 2000. Illustrated book of the Enoploteuthidae. In: Okutani T., ed. True face of Watasenia scintillans. Tokai University Press, Tokyo, p 196?269. (in Japanese)

Tsuchiya, K. and T. Okutani. 1988. Subgenera of Enoploteuthis, Abralia and Abraliopsis of the squid family Enoploteuthidae (Cephalopoda, Oegopsida). Bulletin of the National Science Museum, Tokyo (series A), 14: 119-136.

Voss, G.L. 1963. Cephalopods of the Philippine Islands. United States National Museum Bulletin, 234:1-180.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Abralia multihamata
Location Sagami Bay, Japan
Reference Sasaki, M. 1929. A Monograph of the Dibranchiate Cephalopods of the Japanese and Adjacent Waters. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University,357 pp.
Sex Male
Life Cycle Stage Mature
View Ventral
Size 35 mm ML
Scientific Name Abralia lucens =? A. multihamata
Location Philippine waters
Creator N. Voss via G. Voss
Acknowledgements Voss, G.L. 1963. Cephalopods of the Philippine Islands. United States National Museum Bulletin, 234:1-180.
Sex Female
View Ventral
Size 62 mm ML
Type Holotype
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Tokyo University of Fisheries, Tokyo, Japan

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Citing this page:

Tsuchiya, Kotaro. 2014. Abralia multihamata Sasaki 1929. Version 21 January 2014 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Abralia_multihamata/19658/2014.01.21 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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