Enoploteuthis higginsi Burgess 1982

Introduction

Enoploteuthis higginsi, a relatively small-sized species for the genus, attains 70mm DML. This species resembles the sympatrically occurring species E. jonesi, but is separable by the large numbers and relatively diffuse arrangement of integumental photophores on the mantle and head. E. higginsi is also similar to E. anapsis from the Atlantic Ocean in the photophore patterns.

Characteristics

1. Tentacle
   1. Tentacle long, with distinct club.
   2. Carpal cluster oval.
   3. Two rows of different-sized hooks on manus.
   4. Four rows of suckers on dactylus.
      
      

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      Figure. Oral view of the tentacular club of E. higginsi, female, 45 mm ML, Hawaiian waters. Drawing from Burgess (1982).

2. Hectocotylus
   1. Hectocotylus with large truncate membranous flap on the ventral edge and small semilunar one on the dorso-distal edge.
   2. Modified portion partially lacks armature.
      
      

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      Figure. Oral view of the tip of the hectocotylized right arm IV of E. higginsi, male, 37 mm ML, Hawaiian waters. Drawing from Burgess (1982).

3. Head
   
   1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
      
      
4. Integumental Photophores
   1. Ventral mantle with six, obscure, longitudinal stripes of integumental organs; scattered intermediate organs occur between stripes.
   2. Ventral head with four longitudinal stripes of integumental organs that are interconnected at each end forming a ring-like pattern; in mature specimens, photophore arrangement almost diffuse.
      
      

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      Figure. Ventral view of the ventral head photophores of E. higginsi, holotype. Photograph by R. Young.

   3. Ventral side of arm III with a series of organs on the proximal half of the arm at the base of aboral keel.

Comments

This speceis closely resembles E. jonesi in most taxonomical characters. It is separable from E. jonesi by the large numbers of integumental photophores on the ventral head and mantle. In E. jonesi, each photophore stripe on head is formed by a single row of organs rather than the multiple rows of E. higginsi.

Life history

Eggs

Paralarva

1. Tentacular club short, and bearing few very large suckers.
2. Mantle short, large head, arms short, tentacles thick.

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Figure. Ventral and dorsal views of paralarvae of E. higginsi. Drawings from Young and Harman (1985).

Distribution

Vertical distribution

Vertical distribution of paralarva shows a peak at 100-150m during both day and night in Hawaiian waters (Young and Harman, 1985).

Geographical distribution

This species is widely distributed in equatorial Pacific waters from the Northwest Pacific and Hawaii, to the Coral Sea (Burgess, 1982; Tsuchiya, 1993).

References

Burgess, L.A. 1982. Four new species of squid (Oegopsida: Enoploteuthis) from the central Pacific and a description of adult Enoploteuthis reticulata. Fishery Bulletin, 80(4):703-734, 7 figures.

Young, R. E. and R. Harman. 1985. Early life history stages of enoploteuthin squids (Cephalopoda, Teuthoidea, Enoploteuthidae) from Hawaiian waters. Vie et Milieu, 35: 181-202.

Tsuchiya, K. 1993. Distribution and zoogeography of the family Enoploteuthidae in the Northwest Pacific. In: Okutani, T., O’Dor, R. K. and Kubodera, T. (eds.) 1993. Recent advances in fisheries biology (Tokai University Press. Tokyo). pp. 571-585.