| Taonius belone | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Family: | Cranchiidae |
| Subfamily: | Taoniinae |
| Genus: | Taonius |
| Species: | T. belone |
| Binomial name | |
| Taonius belone | |
| Synonyms | |
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Taonius belone is a glass squid belonging to the genus Taonius from the family Cranchiidae. It occurs in the northern subtropical and in the tropical or equatorial waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. [3]
Taonius belone is a large species of glass squid, which reaches a mantle length of up to 66 cm, [1] the mantle being rather leathery in texture. [3]
It has short arms which have narrow protective membranes which widen near the arm bases where they join up to create an internal umbrella. Each arm has two rows of suckers which become denser towards the tips; there are at least 21 pairs of suckers on each arm, with the largest suckers around the 8th pair. The largest suckers each have 20–30 teeth, wide and tightly set, that cover entire margin of the ring; the smaller distal suckers have only 6–8 teeth while the suckers located near the arm bases have teeth which are merged and present a smooth surface except for few distal undulations.
On the tentacular club the largest two suckers are in the middle two rows of the club manus, and these have one or two enlarged, hook-like teeth with no other teeth present; the other enlarged suckers in the middle rows of the club have two large hook-like teeth which were nearly equal in size with 4–5 smaller secondary teeth. The suckers in the lateral rows of the manus are laterally compressed, each sucker bearing two long, curved teeth on distal and pointed teeth on the lateral margin of the sucker ring.
The tentacular stalk has two rows of locking suckers on distal two-thirds to three-quarters on the stalk with an indistinct carpal cluster at base of manus. The mantle has a smooth skin and where it meets the funnel there are no tubercules. It has elongated, lanceolate fins which have a length equivalent 44% of the mantle length and at their anterior ends they are widely separated. The gladius protrudes out between the posterior ends of the fins to form a tail. [4]
Taonius belone was originally collected in the Indian Ocean at 10°8'S, 97°14'E. SInce the type specimen was collected and described this species has been recorded off southern Japan, in the Philippine Islands, the Hawaiian Islands, and throughout the central equatorial Pacific. Its known distribution suggests that it is distributed throughout the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific, but actual records are few and far between. [1]
Taonius belone is a large pelagic and oceanic squid, referred to as mesopelagic. It has planktonic paralarvae and the eye of this species changes during ontogenetic development. In waters off Hawaii, T. belone undertakes a downward vertical migration as it matures. The paralarvae have laterally compressed eyes at the ends of stalks and they can be found in the upper 400 m of the water column, while the larger juveniles occur at depths between 500 and 700 m (1,600 and 2,300 ft), and the subadults which have hemispherical, stalkless eyes inhabit depths below 700 m. [1]
Taonius belone was originally described as the nominate subspecies of a species then known as T. borealis , i.e. T. b. borealis. The other was T. b. pacifica. Both these taxa were considered to be members of the genus Belonella but this is now considered to be synonymous with Taonius. They are now thought of as sister species with T.belone in the tropical Indo-Pacific and T. borealis in the North Pacific. [3] [4]
The Mastigoteuthidae, also known as whip-lash squid, are a family of small deep-sea squid. Approximately 20 known species in six genera are represented, with members found in both the mesopelagic and bathypelagic zone of most oceans. Originally described by Verill in 1881, it was later lowered by Chun (1920) to a subfamily (Mastigoteuthinae) of the Chiroteuthidae. However, Roper et al. (1969) raised it back to the family level, and this has not been changed since. The taxonomy of this family is extremely unstable, and there have been at times one genus, two genera and four subgenera(Salcedo-Vargas & Okutani, 1994), two genera and several 'groups', five genera and one species with an uncertain placement, or six genera.
Doryteuthis opalescens, the opalescent inshore squid or market squid, is a small squid in the family Loliginidae. It is a myopsid squid, which is the near shore group and that means that they have corneas over their eyes. The species lives in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Mexico's Baja California peninsula to Alaska, United States, and as an inshore squid it can be found with a range of 200 miles (320 km) off the coast.
Liguriella is a genus of glass squids, the genus is probably monotypic, the only species being Liguriella podophthalma. The other named species Liguriella pardus, which was described by S. Stillman Berry in 1916, is cited as a taxon inquirendum but it is suggested that there may be in fact more than one species and there are species yet to be described.
Bathothauma lyromma, the lyre cranch squid, is a highly modified species of glass squid from the family Cranchiidae with a distribution which encompasses most of the world's oceans from the tropics to high latitudes.
Sandalops melancholicus, the sandal-eyed squid or melancholy cranch squid, is a small species of glass squid. It is known to reach a mantle length of 11 cm (4.3 in). It is distributed in the tropical and subtropical oceans around the world. It is the only species in the genus Sandalops but some authorities suggest that this may be a species complex rather than a monotypic genus.
Taonius is a small genus of glass squid. Although it comprises only three recognised species, it has been suggested there may be as many as five species. Taonius borealis is found in the North Pacific Ocean and Taonius pavo is found in the Atlantic and possibly the south-western Indian Ocean.
Liocranchia is a genus of glass squid from the family Cranchiidae. They are moderate-sized with a long, spindle-shaped mantle which tapers to a point at the rear and they can attain mantle lengths of 250 millimeters (9.8 in). The species in Liocranchia have a cosmopolitan distribution in tropical and subtropical oceans although it has been suggested that on especies, Liocranchia reinhardti is associated with land masses. In seas off Hawaii waters, L. reinhardti undergoes vertical migrations while L. valdiviae occurs in deep water and is sedentary. They are eaten by many oceanic predator species.
Idioteuthis cordiformis is a species of whip-lash squid found in tropical regions of the west Pacific Ocean. The species is commonly known as the 'love-heart squid' because the species name cordiformis is Latin for 'heart shaped'. Recently, this species has been found to consume small birdbeak dogfish.
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.
Teuthowenia megalops, sometimes known as the Atlantic cranch squid, is a species of glass squid from the subarctic and temperate waters of the northern Atlantic Ocean. They are moderately sized squid with a maximum mantle length of 40 cm (16 in). Their very large eyes are the source for the specific name megalops. Like other members of the genus Teuthowenia, they are easily recognizable by the presence of three bioluminescent organs (photophores) on their eyeballs.
Taonius borealis is a glass squid belonging to the genus Taonius. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Afrololigo mercatoris, commonly known as the Guinean thumbstall squid, is a small species of squid in the family Loliginidae from the eastern central Atlantic Ocean. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Afrololigo.
Slosarczykovia is a monotypic genus of squid, its sole representative being Slosarczykovia circumantarctica. Slosarczykovia is placed in the family Brachioteuthidae.
Enoploteuthis leptura, the hooked enope squid, is a species of squid from the family Enoploteuthidae. It is the type species of the genus Enoploteuthis, which is in turn the type genus of the Enoploteuthidae.
Gonatopsis borealis, the Boreopacific armhook squid, is a species of squid from the North Pacific Ocean. It is a member of the family Gonatidae. It is an abundant species which is currently caught mainly as a bycatch by fishing boats targeting other quarry. It is an important prey species for many commercially important species of fish, as well as for marine mammals.
Neoteuthis is a monotypic genus of squid, the sole member is Neoteuthis thielei, from the family Neoteuthidae. This species has long tentacular clubs measuring 60% of the mantle length and fins which are 70% of its mantle length. It has a proximal locking-apparatus for the club which is restricted to manus, which in turn has proximal suckers which are circular. It has been recorded from the South Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, near the Canary Islands and North Pacific Ocean, north of Hawaii. The paralarvae and juveniles are found in the epipelagic to mesopelagic zones while adults occur in the mesopelagic to bathypelagic zones.
Ornithoteuthis antillarum, the Atlantic bird squid, is a species of flying squid from the family Ommastrephidae which is found in the warmer waters of the Atlantic Ocean. This species is an important component of the diet of many species of fish and of cetaceans. It is taken as a bycatch in fisheries but has the potential to be commercially important if appropriate fishing methods can be developed.
Ornithoteuthis volatilis, the shiny bird squid, is a squid from the subfamily Ommastrephinae, the flying squids, of the family Ommastrephidae part of the pelagic squid order Oegopsida. It is a tropical and sub-tropical species which is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific oceans. It is slightly larger than the closely related species Ornithoteuthis antillarum of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Angolan flying squid is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae, part of the family Ommastrephidae. Due to taxonomic confusion with the Antarctic flying squid the exact limits of its distribution are uncertain but it is thought to be restricted to waters off Southern Africa.
The Antarctic flying squid is a species of squid from the subfamily Todarodinae of the family Ommastrephidae, a family of pelagic squid from the order Oegopsida. It has a circumglobal distribution in the seas around the lower latitudes of the Southern Ocean.
