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Neoteuthidae Naef, 1921

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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This family has four genera, each with a single species.
Containing group: Oegopsida

Introduction

The Neoteuthidae contains weakly muscled species of small to moderate size (up to 27 cm). They are distinctive in having peculiar fins in which free posterior fin lobes are present and anterior lobes are absent. In addition, the fins attach laterally on the mantle muscle. The tentacular club is unusual in having the manus divided into two distinct regions: a proximal-manus carrying numerous small suckers in irregular series and a distal-manus mostly carring four regular series (may be slightly more suckers in initial portion) of larger suckers. The appearance of the club is similar to that of some species of brachioteuthids. Little is known about the biology of this group.

Brief diagnosis:

An oegopsid ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arms with biserial suckers.
    2. Buccal connectives attach to the dorsal margins of arms IV.

  2. Tentacles
    1. Manus of tentacular club divided into two regions, a distal manus with large suckers in mostly four series and a proximal manus with small suckers in more than 10 series. (The number of series may be slightly more at the interface between the proximal and distal manus and, in Narrowteuthis, somewhat less on the distal portion of the dactylus.) 
    2. Club locking apparatus extends, at least, along the length of the proximal manus.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Top - Oral views of tentacular clubs of Neoteuthis thielei, 83 mm ML, off California. drawing from Young, 1978. Bottom - Alluroteuthis antarctica, Antarctic waters. Drawing from Roper, et al., 1969.

  3. Funnel
    1. Funnel with straight locking-apparatus.

  4. Fins
    1. Anterior fin lobes absent; posterior fin lobes free.
    2. Fins mostly attach to dorsolateral sides of mantle.
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Left - Dorsal view of mantle of Neoteuthis sp., 83 mm ML, off California (from Young, 1972). Right - Ventral view of mantle of Alluroteuthis antarctica (from Roper et al., 1969).

  5. Photophores
    1. Photophores absent.

  6. Skin
    1. Outer surfaces of arms, head and mantle with thick white tissue (presumably silver in life) in most genera.

Comments

The genera are compared in the following table:
Genus Club length Proximal-manus length relative to remaining distal club length tentacle locking apparatus Manal sucker laterally compressed Two greatly enlarged suckers on distal manus Arm sucker dentition Fin length
Alluroteuthis 33% ML <1/3 X Manus, stalk No No Single large tooth 35-40% ML
Neoteuthis 60% ML 4.8 X Manus No No Truncated teeth 70% ML
Nototeuthis 37% ML 3/4 X Manus, stalk No Yes Truncated teeth 60% ML
Narrowteuthis 20% ML 1.1 X Manus, stalk Yes No Smooth 35% ML

Nomenclature

A list of all nominal genera and species in the Neoteuthidae can be found here. The list includes the current status and type species of all genera, and the current status, type repository and type locality of all species and all pertinent references.

Life History

No paralarva of any neoteuthid has been positively identified. However, a paralarva off Hawaii was tentatively identified to this genus by a process of elimination rather than the more reliable process of following a size series to identifiable juveniles. One of the keys to identification is the position of the digestive gland in an anterior postion adjacent to the cephalic cartilage. This feature is usually characteristic of families with buccal connectives that attach to the dorsal borders of arms IV. This paralarva had thick, iridescent tissue overlying the posterior part of the head but much of the skin was missing from other regions so the extent of iridescent tissue in an undamaged paralarva is unknown. Head and arm chromatophore patterns are incomplete due to damage. The dotted line indicates the size and position of the digestive gland.

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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Ventral and dorsal views of a paralarva tentatively identified as Neoteuthis sp., 5.8 mm ML, Hawaiian waters

References

Nesis, K. N. and I. V. Nikitina. 1986. New genus and species of squid of the family Neoteuthidae (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from the south-eastern part of the Pacific Ocean. Zool. Zhurnal, Mos. 65: 290-294.

Roper, C. F. E., R. E. Young and G. L. Voss (1969). An illustrated key to the families of the order Teuthoidea. Smiths. contr. zool., 13:1-32.

Young, R. E. 1972. The systematics and areal distribution of pelagic cephalopods from the seas off Southern California. Smithson. Contr. Zool., 97: 1-159.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Neoteuthis
Location Bahamas
Comments collected by submersible
Life Cycle Stage juvenile
Copyright © 1996 Ron Gilmer
Scientific Name Neoteuthis thielei
Location off California, USA
Reference Young, R. E. 1972. The systematics and areal distribution of pelagic cephalopods from the seas off Southern California. Smithson. Contr. Zool., 97: 1-159.
View dorsal
Size 83 mm ML
ToL Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © Richard E. Young
About This Page


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

Richard E. Young
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Page: Tree of Life Neoteuthidae Naef, 1921. Authored by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young. 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:

Vecchione, Michael and Young, Richard E. 2008. Neoteuthidae Naef, 1921. Version 08 September 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Neoteuthidae/19417/2008.09.08 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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