Cranchiinae
This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.
The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.
You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.
For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.
close boxIntroduction
This is a much less diverse subfamily than the Taoniinae.
Diagnosis
A cranchiid ...
- with many small, round photophores on eyeball.
- with cartilagenous tubercules dispersed and/or in strips on mantle.
Characteristics
- Arms
- Hectocotylus left or right arm IV.
- Arms III longest.
- Head
- Eyes stalked only in young Leachia, otherwise eyes sessile.
- Funnel
- Funnel fused to head laterally.
- Mantle
- One or two cartilagenous strips, usually with tubercles, extend posteriorly from each point of funnel-mantle fusion.
- Photophores
- Eyes with four or more small round photophores.
- Viscera
- Caecum larger than stomach.
Cartilagenous tubercules | Stalked eyes in paralarvae | Funnel valve | Suckers in medial two series on club manus | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cranchia | cover mantle | No | Yes | Not enlarged |
Leachia | on single cartilagenous strips | Yes | Yes | Enlarged |
Liocranchia | on double, diverging cartilagenous strips | No | No | Not enlarged |