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Narrowteuthis Young and Vecchione, 2005

Narrowteuthis nesisi Young and Vecchione, 2005

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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Narrowteuthis contains a single species.
Containing group: Neoteuthidae

Introduction

Narrowteuthis nesisi was described from two specimens that were captured near the Canary Islands in a tow that also captured two specimens of Neoteuthis thielei. Both specimens of the new squid were damaged. The paratype is represented only by the head and oral crown. The holotype is intact although the beaks have been removed by a previous investigator and not returned, the gladius was removed and remains with the specimen, one gill and several chunks of mantle tissue have been removed.

Brief diagnosis:

A neoteuthid ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arm suckers large; sucker rings smooth; sucker (only one remains) of arms IV much smaller than corresponding sucker of arm III.
    2. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
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      Figure. Oral view of large arm suckers of N. nesisi, holotype. Photograph by R. Young.

    Scanning electron micrographs of the suckers can be found here.

  2. Tentacles
    1. Tentacles long and slender.
    2. Clubs short (20% ML).
    3. Locking apparatus with carpal, manal and stock components.
    4. Proximal-manus short (65% of club length, 5% ML).
    5. Dactylus tapers to a slender, neck-like distal portion and expanded terminal pad; suckers in 4-5 irregular series at proximal end of distal manus becoming 4 series on dactylus and 1-2 series on neck-like region of dactylus; terminal pad with 6-7 suckers of varying sizes forming a circle or partial circle around a central bare space.
      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. Oral view of tentacular club of N. nesisi, holotype. Photograph by R. Young.

    6. Large club suckers (photograph on the right) of the distal-manus with 19-20 slender, pointed teeth around entire margin of inner ring; Proximal teeth slightly shorter than distal teeth and size difference accentuates distally.
    7. Small club suckers (photograph on the left) of the proximal-manus, laterally compressed; inner rings smooth; outer rings with large inward projecting knobs.
      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. Oral view of club suckers of N. nesisi. Left - Small suckers of the proximal manus. Right - Large suckers of the distal manus. Photographs by R. Young.

  3. Head
    1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.

  4. Fins
    1. Fins narrow, short (35% of ML); attach to mantle (rather than gladius) over most of length; anterior lobes absent (arrow in above photograph points to anterior insertion of fin); posterior ends damaged but probably had posterior lobes.
      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. Dorsolateral view of the mantle and one fin of N. nesisi, holotype. Photograph by R. Young.

Comments

Additional features of the description can be found here.

The laterally compressed suckers of the proximal manus and the smooth rings on the arm suckers are unique within the family. The slender gestalt and the approximately equal lengths of the proximal manus and the combined distal manus and dactylus are also distinctive. In addition Narrowteuthis nesisi differs from Neoteuthis in having a tentacle locking-apparatus that extends onto the stalk. It differs from both Neoteuthis and Nototeuthis in relative fin length (ca. 35% of ML in Narrowteuthis compared to 60-70% in the other two genera). It further differs from Nototeuthis in the absence of two greatly enlarged suckers on the distal manus.

Life History

The holotype is a male. No hectocotylization was apparent but the arms were damaged.
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Tip of the penis of N. nesisi, holotype. Photograph by R. Young.

Distribution

Type locality: 27°18'N, 19°44'W, near the Canary Islands. Open net that fished mostly at 1750-2000 m.

Other Names for Narrowteuthis nesisi Young and Vecchione, 2005

References

Toll, R.B. 1982. The comparative morphology of the gladius in the Order Teuthoidea (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) in relation to systematics and phylogeny. PhD. Dissertation, University of Miami, 390 pp.

Young, R. E. and M. Vecchione. 2005. Narrowteuthis nesisi, a new genus and new species of the squid family Neoteuthidae (Mollusca; Cephalopoda). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 118 (3): 566-569.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Narrowteuthis nesisi
Location Eastern tropical Atlantic
Sex Male
View Ventral
Size 100 mm ML
Type Holotype
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright ©
Scientific Name Narrowteuthis nesisi
Sex Male
View Ventral
Size 100 mm ML
Type Holotype
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2004
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Narrowteuthis Young and Vecchione, 2005. Narrowteuthis nesisi Young and Vecchione, 2005. Authored by Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione. 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:

Young, Richard E. and Michael Vecchione. 2005. Narrowteuthis Young and Vecchione, 2005. Narrowteuthis nesisi Young and Vecchione, 2005. Version 12 September 2005 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Narrowteuthis_nesisi/19928/2005.09.12 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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