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Histioteuthis celetaria (Voss 1960)

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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Holotype 39 mm ML, female. Deposited at CNHM #78308.
Containing group: Histioteuthidae

Introduction

Histioteuthis celetaria is a poorly understood species with only 25 known specimens.

Characteristics

  1. Photophores
    1. Basal Row with 9 photophores and a single sawtooth (see arrow in photograph at right).
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    Figure. Ventral view of the posterior margin of the head of H. celetaria, 74 mm ML, NMNH specimen, preserved. Photograph by R. Young.

  2. Club suckers
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    Figure. Oral view of a club sucker of H. celetaria, ventral series, holotype. Drawing from Voss (1969, Fig.15b).

    1. Suckers of 3 ventral-marginal rows of manus with broad, asymmetrical outer rings.
    2. Central suckers of manus only slightly enlarged.
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    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Oral view of the left tentacular club of H. celetaria, holotype. Drawing from Voss (1969, Fig.15e).

Comments

More details of the description can be found here.

Species of the celetaria-group are characterized by:

  1. Head photophores:
    1. Type 1b pattern on head.
    2. Basal Row of head with 9 or 10 photophores.
    3. Right Basal Series of head absent.
    4. Arms IV with 3 longitudinal series on arm base (drawing below).
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral view of right arm IV, holotype, 39 mm ML, female. Drawing from Voss (1969, Fig.15f).
    5. Most species with separate group of 4-8 compound photophores on ends of arms IV (drawing above) (Voss, et al., 1998). Apparently this feature is absent in H. inermis.
    6. Compound photophores of large, uniform size and evenly spaced on anterior 2/3 of ventral mantle.
  2. Tubercles
    1. Absent.

The species differ in the following manner:

Character H. celetaria H. inermis H. pacifica H. sp. A
Club suckers
Asymmetrical outer
sucker rings in:
3 ventral-marginal
sucker series
No asymmetrical rings 2 ventral-marginal
sucker series
No asymmetrical rings
Size of medial
manal suckers:
Slightly larger than
marginal suckers
2 X marginal suckers 1.5 X marginal suckers Slightly larger than
marginal suckers
Large manal-sucker dentition: 12-13 teeth on distal margin 20-27 teeth on entire margin 28-32 teeth on entire margin 15-20 teeth on distal margin
Photophores
Single sawtooth in
Basal Row photophore pattern:
Yes No sawtooth No sawtooth Yes
Number of photophores in Basal Row: 9 10 9 9

With the exception of the analysis of head photophores and the inclusion of H. inermis in this species group, most of the information presented here is from Voss (1969) and Voss, et al . (1998)

Nomenclature

Voss, et al. (1998) consider this taxon a subspecies, H. celetaria celetaria.

Life History

Single mature female (258 mm ML) and male (87 mm ML) known; mature eggs are 1.9 mm in diameter (Voss, et al, 1998). The smallest specimen illustrated is a 10.3 mm subadult. Paralarvae are unknown.

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Figure. Ventral view of young H. celetaria from the stomach of Alepisaurus ferox taken off Madeira, 10.3 mm ML. Drawing from Voss, 1969 (Fig. 15d).

Distribution

Geographical distribution

Type locality:Northwestern Atlantic, 32°10'N,64° 45'W. H. celetaria occupies tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean. However, it appears to be absent from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea (Voss et al., 1998).

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Figure. Distribution chart of H. celetaria modified from Voss, et al. (1998).

References

Voss, N. A. 1969. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic: The family Histioteuthidae. Bull. Mar. Sci., 19: 713-867.

Voss, N.A., K. N. Nesis, P. G. Rodhouse. 1998. The cephalopod family Histioteuthidae (Oegopsida): Systematics, biology, and biogeography. Smithson. Contr. Zool., 586(2): 293-372.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Histioteuthis celetaria
Location 32° 10'N, 64° 45'W
Reference from Voss, N. A. 1969. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic: The family Histioteuthidae. Bull. Mar. Sci. 19:713-867. (fig. 15a) printed with permission
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage immature
View ventral
Size 39 mm ML
Type holotype
Copyright © 1969 Bulletin of Marine Science
Scientific Name Histioteuthis celetaria
Location 18°36'S, 04°18'W
Comments NMNH specimen, WH 447-III-71, preserved
View Partial view of right-ventral side
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright ©
About This Page
Drawings from Voss (1969) printed with the Permission of the Bulletin of Marine Science.


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA

Page: Tree of Life Histioteuthis celetaria (Voss 1960). Authored by Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Young, Richard E. and Michael Vecchione. 2013. Histioteuthis celetaria (Voss 1960). Version 03 November 2013 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Histioteuthis_celetaria/19798/2013.11.03 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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