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Taonius borealis (Nesis, 1972)

Richard E. Young
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Containing group: Taonius

Introduction

Taonius borealis, known only from the temperate and boreal North Pacific, reaches a maximum size of 50 cm ML (Nesis, 1972).

Brief diagnosis:

A Taonius with ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arms short, about 1/4 of ML.
    2. Largest arm sucker-rings with low, truncated closely-set teeth on distal half or all around.

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    figure. Large arm suckers of T. borealis. Left - Distal-oral view of whole sucker (sucker 11 of arm II, 240 mm ML). Middle - Oral view of inner ring of same sucker. Right - Oral view of whole sucker (arm III, about 300 mm ML). Photographs by R. Young.

  2. Tentacles
    1. Largest two suckers of medial two series of club manus with one enlarged, hook-like tooth; 3-4 smaller secondary teeth present.
    2. Other enlarged suckers of medial series of club manus with two largest hook-like teeth more nearly equal in size; 6-8 (total) smaller secondary teeth present.
    3. Suckers of marginal series of manus circular (ie, not laterally compressed) with long, pointed teeth on distal and lateral margin of sucker ring.
    4. Tentacular stalk with two series of locking suckers on distal 2/3 to 3/4 of stalk. Distinct carpal cluster at base of manus with 6-7 smooth ringed suckers and matching knobs; knobs not always obvious.

    5. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
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      Figure. Two views of the same tentacular club of T. borealis, 240 mm ML, off Southern California. Photograph by R. Young

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

      Figure. Manus suckers from T. borealis, male, about 300 mm ML, central temperate North Pacific. Left three - Three views of the largest medial manus sucker. Right two - Two views of a large marginal manus sucker.

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    Figure. Sucker from medial series of club dactylus of T. borealis, immature female, about 350 mm ML. Left two - Two views of the intact sucker. Right - Same sucker outer ring removed. Photographs by R. Young.

  3. Head
    1. Occipital folds absent.
  4. Mantle
    1. Skin dermis adjacent to the muscular mantle with alveolate structure (in large males only?).
  5. Fins
    1. Fins lanceolate, about twice as long as combined width; 1/3 of ML.

Distribution

Type locality: Western North Pacific at 44°7.8'N, 150°26.7'E. T. borealis is found the temperate and boreal North Pacific to as far south as Southern California in the Eastern North Pacific.

References

Akimushkin, I.I. 1963. Cephalopods of the Seas of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., Institute of Oceanology, Moscow, 235 pages. English translation: Israel Program for Scientific Translations, Jerusalem, 1965.

Nesis, K.N. 1972. A review of the squid genera Taonius and Belonella (Oegopsida, Cranchiidae). Zoologichesky Zhurnal, 51(3):341-350

Voss, N. A. 1980. A generic revision of the Cranchiidae (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida). Bull. Mar. Sci. 30: 365-412.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Taonius sp., probably Taonius borealis
Location N.W. Pacific off California at 34?25.79'N, 127?31.63'W
Comments The near parallel (i.e. forward) orientation of the hemispherical eyes is a feature that is shared with subadult and adult Taonius. Note the large ocular photophores, the very slender, spindle-shaped digestive gland and the heavy pigmentation of the head and brachial crown.
Acknowledgements Taken by an ROV of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Life Cycle Stage Subadult
View Anterior
Copyright © 2001 MBARI
About This Page

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

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Richard E. Young at

Page: Tree of Life Taonius borealis (Nesis, 1972). Authored by 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:

Young, Richard E. 2011. Taonius borealis (Nesis, 1972). Version 08 March 2011 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Taonius_borealis/19610/2011.03.08 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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