Batoteuthis skolops Young and Roper, 1968

Introduction

Batoteuthis skolops is found only in Antarctic and subantarctic waters and little is known of its biology. It has a small head, a long tail and a very peculiar tentacle with six series of suckers on the club. It reaches a size of at least 35 cm ML.

Diagnosis

A member of the chiroteuthid families ...

• with each tentacular club bearing suckers in six regular series.

Characteristics

1. Arms
   1. Arms with suckers in two series.
      
      
2. Tentacular club
1. Club suckers in six series; club about 80% of tentacle length.
   

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   Figure. Oral view of tentacular club, B. skolops, holotype, 51 mm ML. Drawing from Young and Roper (1968).

3. Head
   
   1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
      
      
4. Funnel
   1. Funnel locking-apparatus is distinctly curved.
      
   
   
   

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   Figure. Frontal view of the funnel/mantle locking-aparatus of B. skolops, holotype. Left - Ventral view of funnel component. Right - Dorsal view of mantle component. Drawings from Young and Roper (1968).

5. Fins
   1. Short (about 20% of ML).
      
      
6. Gladius and Tail
   1. Long secondary conus of gladius forms core of long, slender tail; length greatest in paralarvae.
      

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      Figure. Batoteuthis skolops, 95 mm ML, female. Top - Ventral view of the gladius with cross-sections. Bottom - Ventral view of the funnel, mantle, fins and tail (head lost in capture). Drawing from Young and Roper (1968).

7. Photophores
   1. Large, subadult males with large aboral photophores occupying the tips of arms IV (see title illustration).
      
      
   2. Large, subadult females with small aboral photophores occupying the tips of arms IV.

Comments

More details of the description can be found here. The visceral nucleus is located far anteriorly within the mantle cavity.

Nomenclature

The generic name means "thorn-bush" and refers to the bushy tentacular club. The trivial name refers to anything pointed, a reference to the pointed tail.

A list of all nominal genera and species in the Batoteuthidae can be found here. The list includes the current status and type species of all genera, and the current status, type repository and type locality of all species and all pertinent references.

Life History

The smallest known individual is 30 mm ML and the largest, 350 mm ML. Unfortunately, the largest specimen described with intact tentacles is the holotype. A few growth stages have been described. Paralarval and mature individuals are unknown.

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Figure. Growth stages of B. skolops. A - Ventral view of subadult (holotype), 51 mm ML, Antarctic waters. B - Dorsal view of of juvenile, 30 mm ML (not including tail), Antarctic waters. Note the long tail and small fins. C - Ventral view of same juvenile . Drawings from Young and Roper, (1968).

Distribution

Type locality: South Pacific Ocean about 1000 km southeast of Wellington, New Zealand in the region of the Antarctic Convergence (49° 57'S; 169° 01'W). This species is found in Antarctic and adjacent waters.

B. scolopes is a pelagic species apparently occupying deep water but no definitive information in available of it's vertical distribution.

Other Names for Batoteuthis skolops Young and Roper, 1968

• Batoteuthidae Young and Roper, 1968
• The Bush-club Squid
• Batoteuthis

References

Nesis, K. N. 1982. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385,ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp.

Young, R. E. and C. F. E. Roper. 1968. The Batoteuthidae, a new family of squid (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida) from Antarctic waters. Antarctic Res. Ser. 2: 185-202.