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Cirroteuthis Eschricht, 1836

Cirroteuthis muelleri Eschricht, 1836

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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A single species is presently recognized in the genus.
Containing group: Cirroteuthidae

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 ...

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
      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
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

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.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Cirroteuthis muelleri
Location North Pacific
Reference Voss, G. L. and W. G. Pearcy. 1990. Deep-water octopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) of the Northeastern Pacific. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 47: 47-94.
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Copyright © 1990 G.L. Voss and W.G. Pearcy
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National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Page: Tree of Life Cirroteuthis Eschricht, 1836. Cirroteuthis muelleri Eschricht, 1836. 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. 2003. Cirroteuthis Eschricht, 1836. Cirroteuthis muelleri Eschricht, 1836. Version 01 January 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Cirroteuthis_muelleri/20094/2003.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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