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Opisthoteuthis medusoides Thiele in Chun 1915

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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Containing group: Opisthoteuthis

Introduction

O. medusoides was described from two small individuals (juveniles). They seemed to have little or no pigment. Because of this and the shape of the body they were given the name medusoides. A redescription of this species is badly needed.

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Two greatly enlarged suckers (suckers 19 and 20) at start of distal half of arms IV.
    2. Arms 4.5 cm in length

  2. Eyes
    1. Distance between eye openings - 27.5 mm.

  3. Pigmentation
    1. Aboral surfaces probably light-colored and transparent.
    2. Oral face of web brown, arms light.

Comments

O. medusoides differs from all members of the genus (where males are known) in having greatly enlarged distal field suckers only on arms IV. Very few characters were described in the original description.

Distribution

Type locality: 6°39.1'S, 39°30.8'E, 400 m, near Dar es Salaam, western Indian Ocean.

References

Chun, C. 1910. Die Cephalopoden. Oegopsida. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition, "Valdivia" 1898-1899, 18: 1-522 + Atlas.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Opisthoteuthis medusoides
Reference Chun, C. 1910. Die Cephalopoden. Oegopsida. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition, "Valdivia" 1898-1899, 18: 1-522 + Atlas.
View Aboral and side
Type Holotype
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Opisthoteuthis medusoides Thiele in Chun 1915. 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. 2003. Opisthoteuthis medusoides Thiele in Chun 1915. Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Opisthoteuthis_medusoides/20162/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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