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Moroteuthopsis Pfeffer, 1900

K.S.R. Bolstad, Michael Vecchione, and Richard E. Young
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Two species are presently recognized in the genus.
Containing group: Onychoteuthidae

Introduction

Kondakovia is a sub-Antarctic to true Antarctic genus of large squids (adults to 740 mm ML), primarily set apart from similar species in Onykia by the presence of marginal sucker series on the tentacular clubs in subadults to adults. 

Brief diagnosis:

An onychoteuthid ...

Characteristics

  1. Tentacles
    1. Tentacular club with 23-33 hooks flanked by complete series of small marginal suckers.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Tentacular clubs of K. longimana. Top - Dorsal view, preserved, 195 mm ML, ELTANIN sta. 1392, NMNH specimen. Photograph by R. Young. Bottom - Oral view of tentacular club. Drawing from Filippova, 1972.

  2. Mantle
    1. Mantle soft and fleshy.
    2. Mantle skin with longitudinal ridges in large specimens of K. longimana (Clarke, 1980) and reticulate skin in K. nigmatullini (Laptikhovsky, Arkhipkin & Bolstad, 2008). The photographs below compare the skin of K. longimana (left, middle) with the skin of Onykia robsoni (right).
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Mantle skin of two species. Left - Ventral view of portion of mantle of K. longimana, 195 mm ML (NMNH specimen). Photograph by R. Young. A - K. longimana. B - O. robsoni. A, B photographs from Clarke, 1980.

  3. Gladius
    1. Gladius not visible beneath skin in dorsal midline.
    2. Gladius thin and fragile with 3 pairs of narrow longitudinal ribs: one borders rhachis, one at marginal rim and one inbetween the other two.
    3. Gladius rostrum 5-13% of ML (Laptikhovsky, Arkhipkin & Bolstad, 2008); 2-5% of ML (Clarke, 1980).
    4. Gladius rostrum tricornate dorsally in cross-section along conus field; convex rib present over full length of flat dorsal surface.
      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. Ventral view of gladius of K. longimana with inset of a lateral view of the rostrum and a cross-section of the rostrum and conus field, 210 mm GL. Drawings from Filippova, 1972.


Distribution

This genus is thought to occupy epi- and mesopelagic waters in the Southern Ocean, where it may be circumpolar and reach northward to South Georgia and the Tasman Sea (Kubodera et al. 1998). 

Other Names for Moroteuthopsis Pfeffer, 1900

References

Clarke, M. R. 1980. Cephalopoda in the diet of sperm whales of the Southern Hemisphere and their bearing on sperm whale biology. Discovery Reports, 37: 1-324.

Filippova, Y.A. 1972. New Data on the Squids (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from the Scotia Sea. Malacologia, 11(2):391-406.

Kubodera, T., U. Piatkowski, T. Okutani and M.R. Clarke. 1998. Taxonomy and Zoogeography of the Family Onychoteuthidae (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, No. 586: 277-291.

Laptikhovsky, V., A. Arkhipkin and K.S. Bolstad. A second species of the squid genus Kondakovia (Cephalopoda: Onychoteuthidae) from the sub-Antarctic. Polar Biology 32: 21-26.

Title Illustrations
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Kondakovia longimana
Reference Kubodera, T., U. Piatkowski, T. Okutani and M.R. Clarke. 1998. Taxonomy and Zoogeography of the Family Onychoteuthidae (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology, No. 586: 277-291.
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Size 680 mm ML
Scientific Name Kondakovia longimana
Reference Filippova, Y.A. 1972. New Data on the Squids (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from the Scotia Sea. Malacologia, 11(2):391-406.
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
View Dorsal
Size 210 mm ML
Type Paratype
Copyright © Malacologia
About This Page

K.S.R. Bolstad
Auckland University of Technology


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


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to K.S.R. Bolstad at

Page: Tree of Life Moroteuthopsis Pfeffer, 1900. Authored by K.S.R. Bolstad, 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:

Bolstad, K.S.R., Michael Vecchione, and Richard E. Young. 2019. Moroteuthopsis Pfeffer, 1900. Version 26 March 2019 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Moroteuthopsis/19953/2019.03.26 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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