Note

Opisthoteuthis persephone: Description Continued

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
  1. Eyes
    1. "...rather small and inconspicuous."
  2. Funnel
    1. Slender; funnel organ a pair of small, oval pads.
    2. 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. Funnel laid open to show funnel organ of O. persephone. Drawing from Berry (1918).

  3. Fins
    1. "...minute, tenuous... ."
  4. Gills
    1. Six primary lamellae on one side and 6 plus one poorly developed additional lamella on other side.

  5. Optic lobes and nerves
    1. Unknown

  6. Digestive system
    1. Digestive gland bilobed (O'Shea, 1999).

  7. Beaks
    1. Upper beak with a "distinct angle along each outer side of the beak at the shoulder.".
    2. 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. Lateral view of lower (left) and upper (right) beaks of O. persephone. Drawings from Berry (1918).

  8. Shell
    1. Shell with broad U-shape.
    2. Saddle with a posterior groove.
    3. 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. Dorsal view of shell of O. persephone. Drawing from Berry (1918).

  9. Pigmentation
    1. Aboral surfaces nearly colorless or with a light dirty gray but with traces of a superficial membrane lightly pigmented with streaks of brown.
    2. Oral surfaces superficial integument colorless and transparent. Deeper layer dark bluish slate but paler along the arms and over a ring-like zone a little distance from mouth.
    3. Suckers and cirri light yellowish brown.
    4. Areolae present: each with small, clear central area. Overall, areolae very small.
    5. 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. Areolae of O. persephone. Left - areola in contracted state from small octopod. Right - areola in expanded state, holotype. Scale bar is 1 mm. Drawings from Berry (1918).

  10. Measurements and counts
    Sex ? Holotype ? ?
    Spread (arm tip to arm tip), mm 330 225 170
    Fin span 75 - -
    Fin length 20 15 15
    Fin width 14 7 6
    head width 50 40 35
    Arm I, length (right/left) 165/150 110/110 80/80
    Arm II, length 160/160 115/115 85/85
    Arm III, length 175/170 125/120 90/75+
    Arm IV, length 165/165 125/110 90/90
    Diam. sucker no. 5, arm I 2+ 2 1.1
    Depth web sector A 100 80 60
    Depth web sector C 105 85 60
    Depth web sector E 115 85 60
    These measurements and counts are from Berry, 1918.
  11. Comments

    The above description is taken from Berry (1918) except where otherwise noted.

References

Berry, S.S. 1918. Report on the Cephalopoda Obtained by the F.I.S. "Endeavour" in the Great Australian Bight and Other Southern Australian Localities. Biological Results of the Fishing Experiments carried on by the F.I.S. "Endeavour", 1909-1914, 4(5):201-298.

O'Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

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