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Afrololigo Brakoniecki 1986

Afrololigo mercatoris (Adam, 1941)

Guinean thumbstall squid

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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A single species is presently recognized in Afrololigo.

Type species. -- Lolliguncula mercatoris Adam, 1941 by original designation.

Containing group: Loliginidae

Introduction

A. mercatoris is a small species with females reaching 5 cm ML and males 3.5 cm ML. In general appearance it resembles species of Lolliguncula and Loliolus. Afrololigo mercatoris is known only from the west African coast where it has been collected at depths of less than 50 m on mud and sandy mud bottoms.

Brief diagnosis:

A loliginid ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arms I extremely short compared to other arms.
    2. Arm sucker rings with square, plate-like teeth around entire margin.
    3. Suckers on mid-sections of lateral arms of males greatly enlarged.
    4. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Dorsolateral view of the brachial crown of Afrololigo mercatoris, male, 04°06'N, 05°58'E.

    5. Hectocotylus (left arm IV):
      1. Ventral crest absent.
      2. Proximal half with 6-12 pairs of normal suckers.
      3. Distal half with elongate papillae replacing suckers, papillae of dorsal series more strongly developed.

  2. Tentacles
    1. Tentacular clubs narrow, small; suckers in four series.
    2. 4 or 5 pairs of medial suckers on manus much larger than lateral suckers.
    3. Club sucker rings with 15-25 teeth.

  3. Head
    1. Head short.
    2. Buccal supports without suckers.

  4. Mantle
    1. Mantle bluntly rounded posteriorly; without posterior tail-like elongation.

  5. Fins
    1. Fins rounded, short (length 40 - 45% ML), broad (55 - 65% ML) with convex posterior margins.

  6. Photophores
    1. Photophores absent.

  7. Viscera
    1. Eggs small.
    2. Spermatophores with long cement body.

Comments

Many of the morphological characters of Afrololigo mercatoris are shared with species of Lolliguncula, the genus in which it was originally described. DNA sequence analysis by Anderson (2000) supports Brakoniecki's (1986) conclusion that Afrololigo is a distinct genus.

Distribution

Eastern central Atlantic: limited to the west coast of Africa from Rio de Oro (Mauritania) to Lüderitz Bay (Namibia).

Remarks

“Loligo” abulati Adam 1955 in the Red Sea appears to be closely related to A. mercatoris, but is too poorly known to include in the species accounts.

Other Names for Afrololigo mercatoris (Adam, 1941)

References

Anderson, F.E. 2000. Phylogeny and historical biogeography of the loliginid squids (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) based on mitochondrial DNA sequence data. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 15: 191-214.

Brakoniecki, T.F. 1986. A Generic Revision of the Family Loliginidae (Cephalopoda; Myopsida) Based Primarily on the Comparative Morphology of the Hectocotylus. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA. 163 pages.

Vecchione, M., E. Shea, S. Bussarawit, F. Anderson, D. Alexeyev, C.-C. Lu, T. Okutani, M. Roeleveld, C. Chotiyaputta, C. Roper, E. Jorgensen and N. Sukramongkol. 2005. Systematics of Indo-West Pacific loliginids. Phuket Mar. Biol. Cent. Res. Bull. 66: 23-26.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Afrololigo mercatoris
Location 04°06'N, 05°58'E
Specimen Condition Preserved
Sex Female
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Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
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About This Page


National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Michael Vecchione at

Page: Tree of Life Afrololigo Brakoniecki 1986. Afrololigo mercatoris (Adam, 1941). Guinean thumbstall squid. Authored by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Vecchione, Michael and Richard E. Young. 2015. Afrololigo Brakoniecki 1986. Afrololigo mercatoris (Adam, 1941). Guinean thumbstall squid. Version 11 October 2015 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Afrololigo_mercatoris/23875/2015.10.11 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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