Opisthoteuthis persephone: Description Continued

1. Eyes
   1. "...rather small and inconspicuous."
2. Funnel
   1. Slender; funnel organ a pair of small, oval pads.
   

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   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.".
   

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   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.
   

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   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.
   

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   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.

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.