Grimpoteuthis abyssicola
Steve O'Shea and Richard E. Young
Characteristics
- Arms and web
- Arm formula: 1>2>3>4; longest arm 70% of TL, shortest 50% of TL.
- Web formula: A>B>C>D>E; E about half length of A.
- Web nodule at level of suckers 32-34.
- Suckers small, ASIn - 4% of ML.
- Arm sucker count to 77.
- First 6-8 suckers similar sized, following 30-35 slightly enlarged, terminal 30-35 decrease rapidly in size to arm tip.
- Sucker aperatures simple (i.e., smooth).
- Cirri (largest) 10% of ML, length 2.5 times largest sucker diameter; largest between suckers 10 - 30.
- First cirri between suckers 4 and 6.
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Figure. Sucker of G. abyssicola cut in half. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).
- Shell
- Saddle with convex inner and outer surfaces.
- Lateral wings lobe-like.
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Figure. Dorsal and lateral views of the shell of G. abyssicola. Photograph from O'Shea (1999).
Comments
The above description is from O'Shea, 1999. More details of the description of G. abyssicola can be found here.
Among Pacific species, G. abyssicola differs from:
- G. bathynectes in having more suckers (77 vs 58; web nodule at sucker 32-34 vs 26), longer cirri (2.5 vs 1.5 x largest sucker diam.), position of first cirri (4-6 vs 3-4), shell shape (lateral arm of shell lobelike vs not expanded), posterior salivary absent vs present.
- G. hippocrepium by, possibly, the sucker number at the web nodule (33 vs 25) and the presence of lobelike wings on the shell.
- G. innominata in the lack of peculiar features of the shell and, possibly, a shorter gill (half-orange vs semi-sepioid).
- G. meangensis by, apparently, the lack of large shoulder blades on the shell and a higher arm sucker count (77 vs 60-70).
- G. pacifica in having more suckers (77 vs 52).
- G. tuftsi by features of the shell (lack of shoulder blades and presence of expanded or lobelike wings).
Distribution
Type locality: 35° 35.1'S, 160° 57.1'E, 3180-3145 m depth, between New Zealand and Australia. This species is known only from the type locality.
References
O’Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Grimpoteuthis abyssicola |
|---|---|
| View | Ventral and dorsal |
About This Page
Steve O'Shea
Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Page copyright © 2016 and
All Rights Reserved.
- First online 13 May 2003
Citing this page:
O'Shea, Steve and Richard E. Young. 2003. Grimpoteuthis abyssicola . Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Grimpoteuthis_abyssicola/20117/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
