Helicocranchia pfefferi

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Banded piglet squid
Helicopfefferidraw2.jpg
Ventral view of a specimen taken off Southern California (41 mm ML)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Family: Cranchiidae
Subfamily: Taoniinae
Genus: Helicocranchia
Species:
H. pfefferi
Binomial name
Helicocranchia pfefferi
Massy, 1907 [2]
Synonyms

Helicocranchia beebei Robson, 1948

Helicocranchia pfefferi, the banded piglet squid, is a small squid of the genus Helicocranchia . Adults of this species are mesopelagic.

Contents

Physical characteristics

The average size of adult H. pfefferi is 100 mm (3.9 in) in mantle length (ML). The body consists of a large funnel with small paddle-like fins. They have small tentacles above their eyes. The funnel does not have valves, but contains a dorsal pad with three papillae as organs.[ citation needed ] Paddle-shaped fins are attached to a part of the gladius. H. pfefferi has a single ocular photophore and does not have photophores at its arm tips.

Habitat

H. pfefferi can be found in subtropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean. [3] As paralarvae (<30 mm ML), they live near the surface of the oceans, between 100 m and 200 m deep. They descend to the mesopelagic zone as they mature, but exhibit a diel vertical migration pattern. [4]

Prey

Its diet resembles that of most squid: fish, shrimp, and squid.

References

  1. ↑ Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Helicocranchia pfefferi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014 e.T162906A951921. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T162906A951921.en . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Julian Finn (2016). "Helicocranchia pfefferi Massy, 1907". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Bolstad, K.S.R.; Perez, Jose Angel; Strugnell, J.M.; Vidal, Erica (February 26, 2014). "Cranchiids of the South Atlantic Mid-Oceanic Ridge: results from the first southern MAR-ECO expedition". Research Gate.
  4. ↑ Lu, C.C. & M.R. Clarke (1975). "Vertical Distribution of Cephalopods at 11° N 20° W in the North Atlantic". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 55 (2): 369–389. Bibcode:1975JMBUK..55..369L. doi:10.1017/S0025315400016003. S2CID   250946620.


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