Octopoteuthidae

Last updated

Octopoteuthidae
Taningia danae Joubin 1931.jpg
Taningia danae
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Superfamily: Octopoteuthoidea
Family: Octopoteuthidae
Berry, 1912 [1]
Type genus
Octopoteuthis
Rüppell, 1844
Synonyms

Octopoteuthoidea S. S. Berry, 1912

The Octopoteuthidae are a family of squid comprising two genera. The family is characterized by tentacles which cease to grow after the paralarval stage which leads to the adult having eight arms; thus, members of this family are commonly named as octopus squids.

Contents

Description

Octopoteuthidae is considered to be closely related to the monotypic family Lepidoteuthidae (genus Lepidoteuthis ), sometimes being its sister family. [2] [3]

Octopus squids are characterized by a semi-gelatinous body, with very long, broad fins; the fins approach the length of the mantle in adults. These are oval in shape and muscular, with the two fins being fused towards the midline of the mantle. Their namesake feature is the lack of tentacles in adults; paralarvae and young juveniles possess them, but they do not develop after this stage, and so the adults only have eight arms like an octopus; these arms are armed with hooks. They do not have a hectocotylus; rather, they have a "penis" or terminal organ, which is "often greatly enlarged, elongate", extending well beyond the mantle's opening. Photophores are present on the arm-tips, and these are useful in distinguishing the genera. [4] [5]

The family comprises two genera. A 2019 study recovered some additional species and separates Octopoteuthis into four species groups, though further research is needed to confirm this: [3]

Species recovered by the 2019 study is marked by an asterisk (*). These have not yet been accepted by various online taxonomic databases. [8] [1]

References

  1. 1 2 Julian Finn (2016). "Octopoteuthidae, Berry, 1912". World Register of Marine Species . Flanders Marine Institute . Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  2. ↑ O’Shea, Steve; Jackson, G.; Bolstad, K. S. (2007). "The nomenclatural status, ontogeny and morphology of Pholidoteuthis massyae (Pfeffer, 1912) new comb (Cephalopoda: Pholidoteuthidae)". Rev Fish Biol Fisheries. 17 (2–3): 425–435. Bibcode:2007RFBF...17..425O. doi:10.1007/s11160-007-9047-9 . Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  3. 1 2 Kelly, Jesse Tyler (2019). Systematics of the Octopoteuthidae Berry, 1912 (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) (Thesis). Auckland University of Technology.
  4. 1 2 3 Roper, C.F.E.; Jereb, P. (2010). Family Octopoteuthidae. In P. Jereb & C.F.E. Roper, eds. Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 4, Vol. 2 (PDF) (4 ed.). Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization. pp. 262–268. Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  5. ↑ "Family Octopoteuthidae - octopus squids". sealifebase.ca. SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
  6. ↑ Julian Finn (2016). "Octopoteuthis Rüppell, 1844". World Register of Marine Species . Flanders Marine Institute . Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  7. ↑ Julian Finn (2016). "Taningia Joubin, 1931". World Register of Marine Species . Flanders Marine Institute . Retrieved 5 April 2025.
  8. ↑ "10 Species in Family Octopoteuthidae". sealifebase.ca. SeaLifeBase. Retrieved 6 April 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.