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Ornithoteuthis antillarum Adam, 1957

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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Containing group: Ornithoteuthis

Introduction

Ornithoteuthis antillarum is known from the Atlantic Oceans. It appears to be a smaller species than its Pacific and Indian Ocean congener, O. volatilis, reaching 141 mm ML.

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Right arm IV hectocotylized.
      1. Nine large basal suckers followed by 14 smaller suckers beyond which no suckers exist, only a few pedicels; distal third of arm with large flattened, triangular pedicels folded over onto the ventral border (Voss, 1957).
      2. Midventral surface with honeycomb-like sculpturing with 4-5 longitudinal columns of depressions, 20-25 depressions in each column (Dunning, 1998).
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      Figure. Medial-side view (top) and oral view (bottom of the hectocotylus of O. antillarum. Drawing from Voss (1957, p. 375. Fig. 2b, c).

    3. Sucker dentition sexually dimorphic on all arms (Voss, 1957).
      1. Female with about 8 plate-like teeth proximally with teeth becoming more numerous and pointed in mid-arm.
      2. Male with large lateral plates in mid-arm.
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        Figure. Oral view of arm suckers of O. antillarum showing sexual dimorphism. Suckers from arm III, numbers indicate sucker number from proximal end of arm. Drawings from Voss (1957, p. 375, Fig. 2e-h).

    4. Proximal arms II suckers with different dentition between dorsal and ventral series (Voss, 1957).
      1. Dorsal series: Suckers 1-6 with single, large, pointed tooth distally with 1 or 2 small, plate-like teeth on each side.
      2. Ventral series: Suckers 1-5 with 2 small, medial teeth distally, with 2 small, plate-like teeth on each side.
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      Figure. Oral views of proximal 5 or 6 suckers of arms II from male O. antillarum showing different dentition between dorsal and ventral sucker series. Drawings modified from Voss (1957, p. 372, Fig. 1h,g).

  2. Tentacles (Voss, 1957)
    1. Sucker-bearing region of club about half tentacle length.
    2. Large manus suckers with about 18-20 sharp, round,  curved teeth widely separated from one another.
    3. Dactylus suckers largest in ventral series, decreasing in size to dorsal series.
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    Figure. Oral view of the tentacular club of O. antillarum. Drawing from Voss (1957, p. 375, Fig. 2d).

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

    Figure. Side-oblique view of a large club sucker ring of O. antillarum. Drawing from Voss (1957, p. 375, Fig. 2i).

  3. Funnel
    1. Folds in foveola and side pockets not always obvious (Voss, 1957).
    2. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
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      Figure. Ventral views of the funnel groove O, antillarum showing foveola and side pockets. Left - Male. Right - Female. Drawings from Voss (1957, p. 372, Fig. 1b,c).

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

    Ornithoteuthis antillarum. © Richard E. Young

    1. Photophores
      1. Three visceral photophores: Oval, anal photophore (right arrow below); posterior intestinal photophore (middle arrow below); posterior visceral strip photophore (left arrow below).
      2. One oval, ocular photophore on the ventral surface of each eyeball.
      3. Sexual dimorphism not clear. Some photophores may be more distinct in females (see Voss, 1957).
      4. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
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        Figure. Ventral view of the mantle cavity and visceral photophores of O. antillarum. Photograph by M. Vecchione.

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        Figure. Ventral views of the ocular photophore of O. antillarum. Left - Drawing from Voss (1957, p. 372, Fig. 1f). Right - Photograph by M. Vecchione.

    2. Measurements and count (Voss, 1957)
      Sex  Male
      Female
      Mantle length  94
      97
      Mantle width  19  19.5 
      Head width  19  22.5 
      Fin length  49  52 
      Fin width  45  47 
      Length, arm I  41  33
                 arm II 49  43
                 arm III 51  43
                 arm IV 46  37.5
      Tentacle length  79  78
      Club length  29  26.5

Behavior

O. antillarum has been observed from submersibles feeding with its arms folded dorsally in a modified "J-posture" at a depth of 684m in the Bahamas.  A video of this can be seen here. O. antillarum can be recognized from submersibles by its long tail. A video of O. antillarum swimming can be seen here.

 

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Figure. In-situ side view of O. antillarum in a J-posture. ©

O. volatilis, at least, is capable of gliding above the ocean surface (Sasaki, 1929).

Life History

Based on statolith increments representing daily growth lines, O. antillarum from the tropical central-east Atlantic (off the Gulf of Guinea) reach a maximum age of 182 days indicating a life span of about 6 months in both sexes (Arkhipkin, et al. 1998). Growth curves are sigmoidal with growth decreasing at the onset of maturation; this squid appears to be a multiple spawner frequently producing egg masses of less than 1500 eggs over a period of probably 1.5-3.0  months (Arkhipkin, et al. 1998).

Mean size of mature females was 100.39 mm ML (SD = 1.60) and 88.31 for mature males (SD = 1.73); maximum size of females captured was 138 mm ML and the largest male about 120 mm ML (Arkhipkin, et al. 1998). Ripe eggs are small, ranging from 0.73-0.8 mm in maximum diameter (Arkhipkin, et al. 1998).

Distribution

Type locality: Basse-Terre (Guadelope Island), Antilles, West Indies.

Reported from tropical and subtropical waters of the North Atlantic. In the western Atlantic it is known from about 40°N to 40°S, and in he eastern Atlantic from 20°N to 25°S (Dunning, 1988). 

References

Arkhipkin, A. I., V. V. Laptikhovsky, Ch. M. Nigmatullin, A. V. Bespyatykh and S. A. Murzov. 1998. Growth, reproduction and feeding of the tropical squid Ornithoteuthis antillarum (Cephalopoda, Ommastrephidae) from the central-east Atlantic. Sci. Mar., 62: 273-288.

Dunning, M. C. 1998. A Review of the systematics, distribution, and biology of the arrow squid genera Ommastrephes Orbigny, 1835, Sthenoteuthis Verrill, 1880, and Ornithoteuthis Okada, 1927 (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae). Smiths. Contr. Zool., No. 586: 425-433.

Voss, G.L. 1957. Observations on Ornithoteuthis antillarum adam, 1957. An ommastrephid ssquid from the West Indies. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 7(4):370-378.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Ornithoteuthis antillarum
Location Region of Bahama Islands
Reference Voss, G.L. 1956. A review of the Cephalopods of the Gulf of Mexico. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 6(2):85-178, 18 figures.
Sex Male
View Dorsal
Size 94 mm ML
Copyright © Bulletin of Marine Science
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 Ornithoteuthis antillarum Adam, 1957. 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 Richard E. Young. 2009. Ornithoteuthis antillarum Adam, 1957. Version 29 November 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ornithoteuthis_antillarum/77433/2009.11.29 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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