Abraliopsis
Richard E. Young and Kotaro Tsuchiya
- Abraliopsis affinis
- Abraliopsis atlantica
- Abraliopsis chuni
- Abraliopsis falco
- Abraliopsis felis
- Abraliopsis gilchristi
- Abraliopsis hoylei
- Abraliopsis lineata
- Abraliopsis pacificus
- Abraliopsis morisii
- Abraliopsis tui
Introduction
Species of Abraliopsis are small squids that are most easily recognized by spherical "black" photophores (usually three) at the tip of each Arm IV. The black appearance is due to black chromatophores that typically cover the photophores but when the latter luminesce, the chromatophores withdraw from the photophores. This feature is shared with Watasenia scintillans from waters around Japan.
Brief diagnosis:
An enoploteuthid ...
- with large, black photophores at the tips of arms IV.
- with hooks of manus in two series.
Characteristics
The following characters are from Young, et al., 1998.
- Arms
- Suckers absent from arms IV (only hooks present).
- Suckers absent from arms IV (only hooks present).
- Tentacles
- Manus of club with two series of hooks and one series of suckers.
- Manus of club with two series of hooks and one series of suckers.
- Buccal crown
- Buccal crown with dark epithelial pigmentation on oral surface rather than typical chromatophores.* Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Side view of A. pacificus. White arrow points to pigmented buccal crown. Black arrows point to large, pigmented photophores at the tips of arms IV. Photograph by R. Young.
- Buccal crown with dark epithelial pigmentation on oral surface rather than typical chromatophores.*
- Fins
Figure. Ventral surface of the head and photophores of Abraliopsis pacificus. The photo on the left is an enlargement of some of the photophores.
- Fins extend to posterior end of tail.
- Fins extend to posterior end of tail.
- Photophores
- Two to four large photophores covered by black chromatophores on tips of each arm IV (see photograph under "Buccal crown.")*
- Five photophores on eyeball.*
- Complex organs of integument, in life, with red-colored filters.*
As in most other genera of the family, Abraliopsis has three types of integumental photophores covering the arms, head, funnel and mantle. The right-hand photo above shows the ventral surface of the head and funnel. The most complex of the integumental photophores have red color filters. The other two types appear as blue photophores with white cores in the photos and can be separated only by size in these pictures. Large white ocular photophores are also easily seen through the skin.
*Characters shared with Watasenia
References
Young, R. E., L. A. Burgess, C. F. E. Roper, M. J. Sweeney and S. J. Stephen. 1998. Classification of the Enoploteuthidae, Pyroteuthidae and Ancistrocheiridae. Smithson. Contr. Zool., No. 586: 239-256.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Abraliopsis pacificus |
|---|---|
| Location | off Hawaii |
| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
|
| Copyright |
© 2000 Richard E. Young
|
About This Page
Richard E. Young
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Tokyo University of Fisheries, Tokyo, Japan
Page copyright © 2000 Richard E. Young and
Page: Tree of Life
Abraliopsis .
Authored by
Richard E. Young and Kotaro Tsuchiya.
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- Content changed 23 April 2008
Citing this page:
Young, Richard E. and Kotaro Tsuchiya. 2008. Abraliopsis . Version 16 October 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Abraliopsis/19644/2008.10.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
