Cirroteuthis muelleri Eschricht, 1836

Introduction

These are among the largest cirrates reaching lengths up to 1.5 m (Nesis, 1982/87). They are often found in deep water swimming or drifting near the ocean floor. Very little is known about their biology.

Voss (1988) considered C. muelleri to be the only valid species in the genus.

Brief diagnosis:

 A cirroteuthid ...

• with shell having very wide saddle and oval wings.
  
• with normal, lens-bearing eyes. 

Characteristics

1. Head
   
   1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
      
   2. Eyes: Eyes well developed; lenses present.
      
      
2. Arms and web
   1. Arm tips devoid of suckers and cirri.
   2. Web nodules present.
      
      
3. Shell
   1. Shell with very broad saddle and wings in the anterior-posterior plane.
   2. Shell wings with anterior-posterior length less than 2.0 times length of saddle in this direction.
   3. Shell wings elliptical in lateral view.
      

      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      

      Figure. Lateral view of the shell of Cirroteuthis muelleri, male, 74 mm ML. Drawing from Voss and Pearcy,1990.

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Shell of Cirroteuthis muelleri. A - Dorsal view, male, 74 mm ML. B - Ventral view, male, 74 mm ML. C - Dorsal view, male, 53 mm ML. D - Ventral view, male, 53 mm ML. Lateral view of the shell of Cirroteuthis muelleri, male, 74 mm ML. Drawings from Voss and Pearcy,1990.

Comments

The above description was taken from Voss and Pearcy (1990). Additional features of the description of C. muelleri can be found here.

Two other species (Cirroteuthis hoylei, Robson, 1932, off Chile and Cirroteuthis massyae, Grimpe, 1920, off Ireland) have been described in the genus but have not been recognized as valid by recent authors (e.g., Voss and Pearcy, 1990; O'Shea, 1999). C. massyae may be a species of Opisthoteuthis (ref.?).

Distribution

Type locality

Off Greenland.

Geographical distribution

C. muelleri is known from the North Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, North Pacific (Guerra, et al., 1998) and off New Zealand O'Shea (1999).

Vertical distribution

Collins et al. found that peak abundance (6/km2) occurred at 3000 - 3500 m in the Porcupine Seabight in the North Atlantic. At all of their sampling sites they recorded the presence of this species between 700 and 4854 m.

Other Names for Cirroteuthis muelleri Eschricht, 1836

• Cirroteuthis Eschricht, 1836

References

Collins, M. A., C. Yau, L. Allcock and M. H. Thurston. 2001. Distribution of deep-water benthic and bentho-pelagic cephalopods from the north-east Atlantic. Jour. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K., 81: 105-117.

Guerra, R., R. Villanueva, K. N. Nesis and J. Bedoya. 1998. Redescription of the deep-sea cirrate octopod Cirroteuthis magna Hoyle, 1885, and considerations on the genus Cirroteuthis (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Bull. Mar. Sci., 63: 51-81.

Hoyle, W. E. 1886. Report on the Cephalopoda. Rept. Sci. Res. Challenger. 16 (44): 246 pp.

O'Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.

Voss, G. L. (1988). Evolution and phylogenetic relationships of deep-sea octopods (Cirrata and Incirrata). P. 253-276. In: Clarke, M. R. and E. R. Trueman (Eds.). The Mollusca. Vol. 12. Paleontology and Neontology of Cephalopods. Academic Press, New York. 355pp.

Voss, G. L. and W. G. Pearcy. 1990. Deep-water octopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) of the Northeastern Pacific. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 47: 47-94.