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Containing group: Abralia

Introduction

A. similis is a small-sized species, less than 35mm DML, and is widely distributed in the equatorial to subtropical Pacific. It is characterized by a reddish or purplish brown body color, a small number of club hooks (2) and a bilobed hectocotylus flap.

Characteristics

1. Tentacle clubs
   1. Two hooks on ventral side.
   2. Two rows of large suckers on dorsal side of manus.
   image info
2. Hectocotylus
   1. Right ventral arm of male hectocotylized.
   2. Hectocotylus with two different sized flaps.
   3. Large proximal flap bilobed.
   image info
3. Eye Photophores
   1. Five silvery organs.
4. Integumental Photophores
   1. Ventral mantle and head with scattered arrangement of integumental organs.
5. Mantle apex ("tail")
   1. short, extends just beyond conus of gladius.

Comments

A. similis closely resembles the Atlantic A. redfieldi in the eye photophore, epidermis, club and hectocotylus morphologies.

Distribution

Geographical distribution

This species was first described from the Northwest Pacific. It is the most widely distributed member of the genus Abralia. It has also been recorded from Papua New Guinea (Rancurel, 1970), south of Tonga (Riddell, 1985) and the tropical West Pacific (Burgess, 1992). In the Northwest Pacific, this species occurs south of Kuroshio Current axis.

References

Burgess, L. A. 1992.

Hidaka, and Kubodera, T. 2000.

Rancurel, A. 1970.

Riddell, 1985.

Okutani, T. and Tsuchiya, K. 1987.