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Grimpoteuthis megaptera (Verrill, 1885)

Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young
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Containing group: Grimpoteuthis

Introduction

The original description of G. megaptera was based mostly on two specimens but another two were captured at a nearby station and a small one from another station. Two and probably three of these specimens belong to another species (see below). A more complete description of this species is needed.

Characteristics

  1. Arms and web
    1. Arms I slightly the longest.
    2. Suckers small (1.0 mm diam.), urn-like, strongly elevated above arm surface.
    3. Distance between suckers in midarm often 2 times sucker diameter.
    4. Suckers small and closely packed proximally and distally.
    5. Maximum cirrus length, 2 mm.
    6. Web nodules present on ventral side of each arm.
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    Figure. Oral view of the arms and web of G. megaptera. Drawing from Verrill, 1885.

  2. Eyes
    1. "Small", separated by more than 2 times eye diameter.

  3. Shell
    1. Not described.

  4. Color
    1. Oral surfaces of arms and web chocolate-brown.
    2. Suckers light yellow with brown rims.
    3. Mantle, fins and head bluish white covered with rather large and irregularly arranged, purplish-brown specks and spots.
    4. Web paler and more translucent aborally.

  5. Measurements
    1. Measurements of G. megaptera can be found here.

Comments

The above description is from Verrill, 1885.

There are some differences between the type description which was based on an animal preserved in alcohol and the type illustration which was based on sketches of the fresh animal.

Martin Collins writes: "The type material of G. megaptera appears to be lost, the two specimens in the Smithsonian were in fact C. murrayi. Verrill had four specimens, but the whereabouts of the other two (the real megaptera types) is not known. I have examined 20-30 specimens from the NW Atlantic, and there are at least two species in the material, one of which may be megaptera. Again new material from the type location is needed." Collins (in press) examined a recent specimen from near the type locality of G. megaptera. This specimen had 90 suckers on each arm (ML 120 mm, max. sucker diam. 3.9 mm, max. cirrus length 4 mm).

Among other Atlantic species, Grimpoteuthis megaptera differs from:

If the specimen examined by M. Collins from near the type locality (see above) is G. megaptera then the very large number of suckers will separate this species from all other Atlantic species.

Distribution

The type locality is: Southeast of Martha's Vineyard, off N. E. coast of United States, 36°05.5'N, 69°51.8'W, 4600 m depth and at 36°16.5'N, 68°21'W.

References

Verrill, A.E. 1885. Third catalog of Mollusca recently added to the fauna of the New England coast and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic, consisting mostly of deep-sea species with notes on others previously recorded. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, 6(2): 395-452.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Grimpoteuthis megaptera
Reference Verrill, A.E. 1885. Third catalog of Mollusca recently added to the fauna of the New England coast and the adjacent parts of the Atlantic, consisting mostly of deep-sea species with notes on others previously recorded. Transactions of the Connecticut Academy, 6(2): 395-452.
About This Page


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


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Page: Tree of Life Grimpoteuthis megaptera (Verrill, 1885). 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. Grimpoteuthis megaptera (Verrill, 1885). Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Grimpoteuthis_megaptera/20125/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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