Abralia spaercki
Kotaro Tsuchiya
Introduction
A. spaercki is probably a demersal mesopelagic boundary species associated with the continental or island shelves. Relationship with the allopatric A. multihamata is not fully understood.
Brief diagnosis:
An Abralia (Abralia) with ...
- peculiar photophore in the funnel groove.
- scattered photophores between medial and lateral arm photophores on arms IV.
Characteristics
- Tentacle clubs
- Five to seven hooks on ventral side.
- Two rows of large suckers on dorsal side of manus. 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. Oral view of the tentacle club of A. spaercki. Top - Northern Australia. Drawing from Tsuchiya (2000). Bottom - Philippine waters. Drawing from Voss (1963).
- Hectocotylus
- Right ventral arm of male hectocotylized.
- Hectocotylus with two different sized off-set flaps.
- Proximal part of modified portion with armature. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Oral view of the hectocotylus of A. spaercki, northern Australia. Drawing from Tsuchiya (2000).
- Eye Photophores
- Five major complex organs: two large, terminal, opaque organs and three intermediate silvery organs; some minute additional organs present. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Oral view of the ocular photophores of A. spaercki. Left two - Holotype, Indonesia. Drawing from Voss (1963). Right - Northern Australia. Drawing from Tsuchiya (2000).
- Five major complex organs: two large, terminal, opaque organs and three intermediate silvery organs; some minute additional organs present.
- Integumental Photophores
- Ventral mantle and head with relatively sparse, scattered arrangement of integumental organs.
- Within funnel groove a large, white photophore posteromedial to inner occipital fold.
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Side view of the posterior head of A. spaercki, female, 48 mm ML, Philippine waters, showing photophores. Arrow points to unusual photophore at the side of the funnel groove.
Comments.
A. spaercki is very similiar to A. multihamata but has scattered photophores in the proximal half of each arm IV found between the medial and lateral (not lateral membrane) photophore series and has a single, large white photophore found in the funnel groove posteromedial to each first occipital lobe not found in A. multihamata.Distribution
Geographical distribution
Type locality - Coast of Sawrude Island, near Ambon, Banda Sea, Indonesia. A. spaercki is recorded from the shelf waters of the Philippines, Indonesia, and northern Australia.References
Voss, G.L. 1963. Cephalopods of the Philippine Islands. United States National Museum Bulletin, 234:1-180.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Abralia spaercki |
|---|---|
| Location | Near Ambon, Banda Sea, Indonesia |
| Reference | Voss, G.L. 1963. Cephalopods of the Philippine Islands. United States National Museum Bulletin, 234:1-180. |
| Creator | N. Voss via G. Voss |
| Sex | Female |
| View | Dorsal (top), ventral (bottom) |
| Size | 47 mm ML |
| Type | Holotype |
About This Page
Tokyo University of Fisheries, Tokyo, Japan
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- Content changed 11 October 2015
Citing this page:
Tsuchiya, Kotaro. 2015. Abralia spaercki . Version 11 October 2015 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Abralia_spaercki/19650/2015.10.11 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
