Note

Magnoteuthis microlucens: Description continued

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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. ventrolateral view of Mg. microlucens, paratype, swimming in an aquarium after being sucked into a cold, sea-water pipe from about 925 m depth. The white spot in front of the eye is the stub of a tentacle; both tentacles were lost during capture. Photograph by Michael Darden.

  1. Arms
    1. Largest arm suckers tend to be located mid-arm but pattern highly variable. More information on relative sucker sizes can be found here.
      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. Arm sucker arrangement in Mg. microlucens. Left - Oral view of selected arm suckers, paratype, 140 mm ML (estmate). All suckers maintain relative sizes. White numbers indicate sucker number counted from arm base. Sucker measurements can be found below. Photographs by R. Young.  Right - Oral-oblique view of the arms and suckers of the live squid, paratype, 135 mm ML, showing mid-arm suckers on arm II that are much larger than those found mid-arm on arm IV. Color has been altered slightly to improve contrast. Photographed in an aquarium by Jan War .

  2. Tentacles
    1. Club length more than 80% of tentacle length.
    2. Club suckers numerous, extremely small (ca. 0.05 mm); suckers lack enlarged lateral pegs on their outer rings and have smooth inner rings.
    3. Base of club long, tapers gradually.
    4. 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. Oral view of the base of the tentacular club of Mg. microlucens, 77 mm ML. Top - Photograph of club base stained with methylene blue stain. Bottom - Artistic interpretation of the same club. Sucker-bearing portion of club in green. Illustration by R. Young.

    5. Protective membranes present but very low (height comparable to that of individual suckers); trabeculae cannot be detected.
      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. Side view of the mid-region of the tentacular club of Mg. microlucens showing club protective membrane with an enlarged insert on the right. Photograph modified from Young, et al. (2008).

    6. Tentacular stalk not completely surrounded by club even at tip.
      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. Aboral view near the tip of the tentacular club of Mg. microlucens showing bare aboral surface of the club tip. Photograph by R. Young.

  3. Head
    1. Olfactory organ a short broad papilla with reduced head.
    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. Side view of the olfactory organ of Mg. microlucens. Photograph by R. Young.

  4. Funnel
    1. Funnel pocket between bridles absent.
      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. Ventral view of funnel groove of Mg. microlucens, holotype, 79 mm ML, preserved. Photograph modified from Young, et al. (2008).

  5. Fins
    1. Fin length approximately equal to fin width.

  6. Tubercules
    1. Skin tubercules absent.

  7. Pigmentation 
    1. Arms with dense chromatophores aborally, epithelial pigmentation orally (?).
    2. Head, funnel, mantle and fins with dense chromatophores.
    3. Most pigment beyond oral region in chromatophores.

  8. Measurements (from Young, et al., 2008)
    Specimen Holotype
    NMNH 1111879
    Paratype
    NMNH
    11118800
    Paratype
    SBMNH
    422886 Teuthis 23
    Paratype
    SBMNH
    422887
    HM 1996
    Paratype
    SBMNH
    422888
    HM Hawaii 
    Paratype
    SBMNH
    422889
    Keahole Pt. 
    Paratype
    SBMNH
    422890
    HM Hawaii 
    Sex Immature female Unknown Unknown  Immature female  Unknown- head only Immature female Mature male 
    Mantle length 
    79 
    37  77 138  ND
    135215 
    Tail length 14 8.5 ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    Mantle width 21 ND
    ND
    ND
    25 ND
    Fin length 54 22 54 ND
    ND
    90 ND
    Fin width 57 25 68  ND
    ND
    115 ND
    Head width 22 ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    Head length 16* 10 ND
    ND
    ND
    34 ND
    Eye diameter 16** ND ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    Arm I, length 34 11 44+ 87  90+ 105 125 
    Arm II, length 49 17 56 105+  139 126 145 
    Arm III, length 36 10 43  94   111105 137 
    Arm IV, length 79 35 92  110+   174174 ND
    Tentacle length ND
    46158  ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    Club length ND
    30 130 ?  ND
    ND
    ND
    ND
    Measurements in mm. ND = no data.
    *Measured laterally from olfactory organ to tentacle.
    **Calculated from lens diameter (= 6 mm).

  9. Sucker diameter measurements from a single squid (see above)
    Sucker number  2  3   
    13  14  15    25  26  27    34
    35    43
    45    50
    Arm I   1.9  
       
    2.1
        2.0
           
    1.8
       
    1.3
       
    Arm II    2.2
       
      2.4
       
      3.3
      3.1
        2.5
        1.9
    Arm III  1.9      2.0
           
    2.2      
    1.9
        1.5
       
    Arm IV  1.9       
     2.0      
    1.8
         
    1.6
       
    1.3
       
    Measurements in mm. Photographs of these suckers appear above on this page.

Comments

Not only are the photophores small (ca. 1/3 the diameter of the large integumental photophores of Mastigoteuthis spp. , but they are very difficult to recognize as photophores. The photophores lack the readily visible white reflectors seen in the Mastigoteuthis spp.; the whitish "lens" that distinguishes them as photophores are often not seen at all. Their position immediately beneath the chromatophore layer is their most apparent characteristic. In the photograph below the chromatophore layer was lost from portions of the skin shown on either side of an intact chromatophore layer. Most of the dark structures (arrows) are photophores. Where the covering of chromatophores is intact, the photophores become difficult to detect.

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. Ventral view of head skin of Mg. microlucens, 138 mm ML, showing regions with and without outer chromatophore layer intact. Photograph by R. Young.

References

Young, R. E., A. Lindgren and M. Vecchione. 2008. Mastigoteuthis microlucens, a new species of the squid family Mastigoteuthidae (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash. 121(2): 276-282.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

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

Page: Tree of Life Magnoteuthis microlucens: Description continued 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.

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