Pyroteuthidae is a family of squids. The family comprises two genera. Species are diurnally mesopelagic, migrating into surface waters during the night. The family is characterised by the tentacles, which have a permanent constriction and bend near the base; and photophores occurring on the tentacles, eyeballs, and viscera. Members reach mantle lengths of 23–50 mm. Paralarvae of the family are common around the Hawaiian Islands, with up to 17% of collected specimens in the area belonging to Pyroteuthidae.
Enteroctopus is an octopus genus whose members are sometimes known as giant octopuses.
The paintpot cuttlefish is a small, poorly researched species of cuttlefish found in the Indo-Pacific, between Japan and Hong Kong. It is one of the two species classified in the genus Metasepia. Metasepia cuttlefish are characterized by their small, thick, diamond-shaped cuttlebone, and distinctive body coloration.
Metasepia pfefferi, also known as the flamboyant cuttlefish, is a species of cuttlefish occurring in tropical Indo-Pacific waters off northern Australia, southern New Guinea, as well as numerous islands of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Xipholeptos is a genus of squid in the family Idiosepiidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Xipholeptos notoides, commonly known as the southern pygmy squid. The species was originally classified as Idiosepius notoides. The southern pygmy squid is native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean, off southern and eastern Australia. It inhabits shallow, inshore waters. It has been recorded off the coasts of New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria.
Moroteuthopsis longimana, also known as the giant warty squid or longarm octopus squid, is a large species of hooked squid. It attains a mantle length of at least 85 cm and probably over 1.15 m. The largest complete specimen of this species, measuring 2.3 m in total length, was found in Antarctica in 2000.
Onychoteuthis is a genus of squid in the family Onychoteuthidae. The type species is Onychoteuthis bergii. While the genus is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical oceans, they can also occur in the North Pacific Ocean. There were previously considered to be four species in the genus but there are now considered to be roughly 10. These squid are frequently observed in the surface waters at night and they are often caught using dipnet at nightlight stations. The young squid are usually the only specimens captured using standard midwater trawls, the older squid are apparently able to avoid the trawls. They can, however be collected from the air as individuals are able to leap high out of the water, sometimes even landing on the deck of a ship.
Pyroteuthis is a genus of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae. It is differentiated from the genus Pterygioteuthis by size, head shape and behaviour. Species within the genus are separated by the arrangement of tentacular photophores; the shape of the hectocotylus, and the shape of the hectocotylus hooks. With the exception of the Tropical Eastern Pacific, the genus is circumpolar in tropical and temperate oceans. The species P. addolux is the only member to occur in the North Pacific.
Pterygioteuthis is a genus of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae. Members are differentiated from the genus Pyroteuthis due to size and head shape. The genus is characterised by the presence of a lidded photophore over each eye.
Pyroteuthis margaritifera, the jewel enope squid, is a species of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae.
Pyroteuthis serrata is a species of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae. It is found north of the tropical convergence in the waters around New Zealand and it does not overlap with Pyroteuthis margaritifera which has a more southerly range.
Pterygioteuthis giardi is a species of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae. It is known as the roundear enope squid. The specific name honors the French zoologist and marine biologist Alfred Mathieu Giard (1846-1908).
The seven-arm octopus, also known as the blob octopus or sometimes called septopus, is one of the two largest known species of octopus; the largest specimen ever discovered had an estimated total length of 3.5 m (11 ft) and mass of 75 kg (165 lb). The only other similarly large extant species is the giant Pacific octopus, Enteroctopus dofleini.
Illex coindetii, commonly known as the southern shortfin squid or broadtail shortfin squid, is a species of neritic squids in the family Ommastrephidae. They are found in the Mediterranean Sea and on both sides of the north Atlantic Ocean.
Abraliopsis affinis is a species of enoploteuthid cephalopod in the tropical waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, and is known from Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Peru. It was described by Pfeffer in 1912 and is rated as a least-concern species by the IUCN.
Slosarczykovia is a monotypic genus of squid, its sole representative being Slosarczykovia circumantarctica. Slosarczykovia is placed in the family Brachioteuthidae.
Gonatopsis okutanii is a species of squid from the family Gonatidae from the northern Pacific Ocean. It is of uncertain taxonomic status, the presence of remnant tentacles on spent females indicate that this species does not belong in the genus Gonatopsis and the differences between this species and Gonatus makodai have led to some authorities stating that G. okutanii is a junior synonym of Eogonatus tinro. However the World Register of Marine Species still recognises Gonatopsis okutanii as the valid name for this taxon.
Lampadioteuthis megaleia is a small, colorful squid, the only species in the only genus in the monotypic family Lampadioteuthidae. It is sometimes known as the wonderful firefly squid. It was formerly classified in the family Lycoteuthidae, but differs from them mainly by having a hectocotylus in the males and by the possession of a rostrum on the gladius.
Pterygioteuthis hoylei is a species of squid in the family Pyroteuthidae. It is considered conspecific with Pterygioteuthis giardi by some authorities. It can be identified from P. giardi by having four photophores on the tentacles and many chromatophores spread along the tentacle stalk and around the aboral surface of the tentacular club. It is also slightly larger than P. giardi, it has been so far recorded only from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean where it is the only species of in the family Pyroteuthidae to occur there, although its actual distribution may be wider than currently known. The specific name honours the British malacologist William Evans Hoyle (1855-1926).
Grimpoteuthis plena is known from only one specimen, which cannot be easily separated from other species of Grimpoteuthis in the Atlantic Ocean. The specimen was in poor condition. It's similar to Grimpoteuthis wuelkeri, and may be a junior specimen of Grimpoteuthis umbellata.
