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Ommastrephinae Posselt 1891

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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taxon links [up-->]Ornithoteuthis [up-->]Hyaloteuthis [up-->]Dosidicus [up-->]Sthenoteuthis [up-->]Eucleoteuthis [up-->]Ommastrephes [down<--]Ommastrephidae Interpreting the tree
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Containing group: Ommastrephidae

Introduction

Members of the Ommastrephinae are the most oceanic members of the Ommastrephidae and are commonly attracted to surface night-lights in the open ocean. Some species are fished commercially and one species, Ommastrephes bartramii, was taken in the North Pacific in quantities over 350,000 tons per year during the 1980s (Bower and Ichii, 2005). This subfamily contains the largest species (Doscidicus gigas) reaching a size of 120 cm ML and the smallest species (Hyaloteuthis pelagica) reaching a size of about 9 cm ML (Nesis, 1982/87). A wide variety of luminous organs are present on the mantle, head, arms, viscera and eyes but vary with species.

Brief diagnosis:

Ommastrephids with ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Hectocotylus (left or right Arm IV) usually with distal ventral protective membrane expanded to form a flange (not expanded in Ommastrephes where it tapers toward tip).
    2. Hectocotylus possesses pores in some genera.
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    Figure. Mostly oral views of hectocotylized left or right ventral arms of representatives of Ommastrephinae genera. A - Ommastrephes bartramii. B - Sthenoteuthis pteropus, right arm. C - Dosidicus gigas, right arm. D - Eucleoteuthis luminosa, left arm. E - Hyaloteuthis pelagica, distal part of left arm, simplified. F - Ornithoteuthis volatilis, distal 2/3 right arm; left - oral view; right - ventrolateral view. v - Ventral side of arm. Drawings from Roeleveld (1988).  Arrows point to pores.

  2. Tentacles (More details of the tentacular club can be seen here.)
    1.  Suckers of dactylus of tentacular club in four series.
    2. Carpal locking-apparatus usually present with one to several smooth-ringed suckers and corresponding knobs (absent in Ornithoteuthis).
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Oral view of the tentacular club of O, bartramii, 303 m ML, off Baja California. Drawing from Young (1972).

  3. Head
    1. Funnel groove usually with anterior foveola and side pockets (both absent in Ornithoteuthis).
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      Figure. Left - Ventral view of the funnel groove comparing modifications in two of the subfamilies. Drawing modified from Roper, et al. (1985). Right - Oral-oblique view of the funnel (with funnel valve protruding) and funnel groove of Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis showing foveola and side pockets. Photograph by R. Young.

  4. Photophores
    1. Photophores present in all species.
    2. Subcutaneous photophores present in all species except those of Ornithoteuthis.
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    Figure. Ventral (top) and dorsal (bottom) views of the mantle of Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis that has been cleared and the photophores (and gladius, funnel locking-apparatus) stained with alcian blue stain. The numerous small, dark dots are subcutaneous photophores embedded in the mantle muscle. The lower, left arrow points to a dense patch of several hundred photophores. Photograph modified from Kishimoto and Kohno (1992).

    Table. Comparison of genera of Ommastrephinae
      Photophore patch on dorsal mantle
    Visceral photophores  Enlarged, easily visible, subcutaneous photophores  Largest manus sucker
    Hectocotyllus with lateral pores  Arm tips 
    Ornithoteuthis  No One or two round organs, long streak  None  Toothed, no enlarged teeth
    Yes  Normal 
    Dosidicus  No Two round organs, no streaks  None  Enlarged tooth in each quadrant
    Yes  Attenuate at >35 cm ML, with 200-500 small suckers
    Ommastrephes  No
    None  None  Enlarged tooth in each quadrant 
    No  Normal
    Sthenoteuthis  Yes
    Two round organs, no streaks 
    None  Enlarged tooth in each quadrant
    Yes; No in early maturing form  Normal
    Eucleoteuthis  No
    One round organ, no streaks 
    Circular pads and streaks  Smooth except one tooth
    No  Normal
    Hyaloteuthis  No 
    One round organ, no streaks 
    Circular pads Smooth, sometimes one/few teeth
    No  Normal
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    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Explanation of table characters: Types of largest manus suckers. Drawings from Roeleveld (1988).

References

Kishimoto, H. and H. Kohno. 1992. Development of the luminous organ in the purpleback flying squid, Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, as shown by Alcian Blue stain techniques. Bull. Inst. Oceanic Res. & Develop., Tokai Univ, 13: 71-83.

Nesis, K. N. 1982. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385,ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp.

Roeleveld, M. A. 1988. Generic interrelationships within the Ommastrephidae (Cephalopoda). P.277-314. In: M. R. Clarke and E. R. Trueman (eds.). The Mollusca. Vol. 12. Paleontology and Neontology of Cephalopods. Academic Press, N.Y., 355pp.

Roper, C. F. E., M. J. Sweeney, And C. E. Nauen. 1985. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 3. Cephalopods of the World. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species of interest to fisheries. FAO Fish. Synop., (125)3:277 pp.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis
Location Hawaiian waters
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
View Side
Size Estimate of 18-20 cm ML
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 1996
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Ommastrephinae Posselt 1891. 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. 2017. Ommastrephinae Posselt 1891. Version 10 October 2017 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ommastrephinae/19941/2017.10.10 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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