Note

Cryptoteuthis brevibracchiata: Description continued

Martin Collins, Roger Villanueva, and Richard E. Young
  1. Arms
    1. Arm formula: I>II>III>IV; arm I length approximately twice mantle length and about 60% of total length.
    2. Web extends about 2/3 of arm length; web formula A>B>C>D>E.
    3. 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 C. brevibracchiata, holotype. Scale bar - 40 mm. Drawing from Collins (2004). 

    4. Suckers in single series from mouth to arm tips.
    5. Sucker count 45-48.
    6. first cirri before third or fourth sucker; cirri extend to arm tips, longest on mid-arm.

  2. Head
    1. Head slightly wider than mantle.
    2. Eyes lateral, moderate in size (32% head width).
    3. Optic lobes modereate in size, slightly larger than semi-circular central brain.
    4. White body cream colored.
    5. Beaks of typical cirrate form.
    6. 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. Side views of the beaks of C. brevibracchiata, holotype. Left - Lower beak. Right - Upper beak. Scale bar - 4 mm. Drawings from Collins (2004).

  3. Funnel
    1. Funnel long (ca. 40% head width), flaccid.

  4. Mantle
    1. Mantle 33% of total length; broadly rounded posteriorly.
    2. Mantle opening narrow, closely surrounds funnel.

  5. Fins
    1. Posterior margins of fins with purple pigmentation; lateral margins rounded with slight point; anterior margins convex with distinct lobe.
    2. Fins with narrow, muscular base; muscular area extends 2/3 of fin length.

  6. Shell
    1. Shell broad with simple U-shape and slightly flaring lateral wings.
    2. Inner and outer surfaces of basal portion of shell convex.
    3. Each lateral wing of shell terminates in a broad lobe with distinct, pointed extension (spike) on dorsal side.
    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. Dorsal, ventral, lateral and anterior (bottom) views of the shell of C. brevibracchiata, holotype. Scale bar - 15 mm. Drawings from Collins (2004).

  7. Viscera
    1. Olfactory organ rounded.
    2. Entire outer surface of digestive tract deeply pigmented.
    3. Oesophagus leads from buccal mass to stomach (a simple swelling of the oesophagus), then to caecum.
    4. Caecum with single turn and with two digestive gland ducts.
    5. Intestine straight, shorter than esophagus.
    6. Female genitalia simple, unpaired; oviducal gland in two parts, both cream colored.
    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 the cut-open mantle cavity of C. brevibracchiata, holotype, showing the viscera. Scale bar - 15 mm. Drawing from Collins (2004).

  8. Measurements 
    Sex  Immature female 
    Total length  121 mm 
    Mantle length  35 mm 
    Head width  47 mm
    Fin span  92 mm 
    Fin length  22 mm 
    Fin width  15 mm 
    Funnel length  19 mm 
    Eye diameter  15 mm 
    Arm I length  75 mm 
    Maximum sucker diameter  1.8 mm 
    Maximum cirri length  3.0mm 
    Sucker location number of largest suckers  6-28 
    Gill lamellae  7/7 
    Gill diameter  6.0 mm 

Comments

This description is from Collins, 2004. 

References

Collins, M. A. 2004. Cryptoteuthis brevibrancchiata: a new species and genus of cirrate octopod (Octopoda: Cirrata). Journal of Molluscan Studies. 70:263-267.

About This Page

Martin Collins
Aberdeen University, Aberdeen, UK


Instituto de Ciencias del Mar (CSIC), Barcelona, Spain


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

All Rights Reserved.

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