Magnoteuthis magna
Michael Vecchione and Richard E. YoungIntroduction
Mg. magna appears to be one of the more common mastigoteuthids in the temperate to tropical Atlantic. The description of the holotype by Joubin (1920) can be seen here.
Brief diagnosis:
A Magnoteuthis ...
- without photophores.
- with smooth-ringed arm suckers.
Characteristics
- Arms
- Arm suckers with smooth inner rings.
- Largest suckers of arms IV larger than those of other arms.
- Head
- Beaks. Description of the beaks in 2D can be found here.
Description of the beaks in 3D can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak..
- Beaks. Description of the beaks in 2D can be found here.
- Funnel
- Mantle component of funnel locking-apparatus with straight, anterior groove and broad, posterior cup
- Photophores and pigmentation
- Skin, except oral surfaces, covered with dense packing of chromatophores containing a deep, brilliant red pigment.
- Photophores absent.
- No trace of ringed chromatophores or white spheres.
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new windowClick on an image to view larger version & data in a new windowClick on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Left - Frontal view of the chromatophores of Mg. magna, off New England, fresh, showing numerous chromatophores. Region of squid unknown. Photograph by M. Vecchione. Right - Ventrolateral view of a damaged portion of the ventral head of Mg. magna, 40°N,67°W, 160 mm ML, showing dense packing of chromatophores and the subchromatophore layer (damaged region) but without any indication of photophores. Photograph by R. Young.
More scanning electron microscopy of arm and club suckers can be seen here.
Comments
More details of the description of Mg. magna can be found here.
Distribution
Type locality: Sargasso Sea of the North Atlantic at 31°45'N, 42°39'W. Apparently Mg. magna occurs throughout the tropical and warm temperate Atlantic, At least from 50°N, 27°W (MARECO record) to 40°S, 26°W (FFS WALTHER HERWIG record). Reported from the Indian Ocean (Nesis, 1982/87) but this could be a species of Magnoteuthis that was not recognized at the time of this publication.
References
Joubin, L. 1920. Céphalopodes provenant des Campagnes de la Princesse Alice (1898-1910). 3e Serie. Monaco.
Title Illustrations
![Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window](http://tolweb.org/tolarchive/19520/20141206/tree/img/magnify.gif)
Scientific Name | Mastigoteuthis magna |
---|---|
Comments | Ventrolateral view of a squid thought to be M. magna that was taken from a submersible |
Scientific Name | Mastigoteuthis magna |
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Location | Off N. E. United States, 40?N, 67?W |
Specimen Condition | Preserved |
Sex | Male |
Life Cycle Stage | Immature |
View | Ventral |
Size | 160 mm ML |
Image Use |
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Copyright |
©
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About This Page
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Page copyright © 2014 and
Page: Tree of Life
Magnoteuthis magna
Authored by
. Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young.
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- First online 18 July 2004
- Content changed 15 August 2010
Citing this page:
Vecchione, Michael and Richard E. Young. 2014. Magnoteuthis magna http://tolweb.org/Magnoteuthis_magna/19520/2014.12.06 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
. Version 06 December 2014 (under construction).