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Cirroctopus mawsoni

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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Containing group: Cirroctopodidae

Introduction

Cirroctopus mawsoni is the type species of the genus. It was described from a single specimen.

Characteristics

  1. Arms and web
    1. Arm sucker count 27-31 [arms I-IV, holotye (O'Shea, 1999)].
    2. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
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      Figure. Oral view of left arm I and adjoining web of C. mawsoni. Drawing from Berry, 1917.

    3. Sucker 11 of right arm I.
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      Figure. Oral view of arm I sucker and adjacent cirri of C. mawsoni. Drawing from Berry, 1917.

    5. Measurements
      1. Mantle length.....................12 mm*
      2. Total length......................32 mm
      3. Posterior mantle to base arms I...15 mm
      4. Mantle width......................09 mm
      5. Head width........................09 mm
      6. Width across fins.................28 mm
      7. Fin length........................08 mm; 12 mm*
      8. Fin width (midpoint)..............06.5 mm
      9. Funnel length.....................03.5 mm
      10. Length, arms I....................17 mm; 12.3*
      11. Length, arms II...................10.8 mm*
      12. Length, arms III..................10 mm*
      13. Length, arms IV...................10 mm*
      14. Web depth, sector A...............11 mm*
      15. Web depth, sector B...............10 mm*
      16. Web depth, sector C...............09.4 mm*
      17. Web depth, sector D...............06.6 mm*
      18. Web depth, sector E...............05.4 mm*
      19. Sucker counts, arms I.............28/28*
      20. Sucker counts, arms II............27/27*
      21. Sucker counts, arms III...........27/31*
      22. Sucker counts, arms IV............29/27*
      23. Largest arm sucker diameter.......0.6 mm*
      24. Largest cirri.....................0.5-1.0 mm*
      25. Gill lamellae.....................4?*
      26. Sex...............................?
        * - Measurements of holotype from O'Shea, 1999. Other measurements from Berry, 1917.

    Comments

    Insufficient information exists to separate this species from G. glacialis although it has a lower arm sucker count (O'Shea, 1999) (but the holotype is smaller). If they prove to be synonymous, G. mawsoni has priority. Descriptions of animals in good condition from the type locality are needed.

    This species differs from G. hochbergi in having a much lighter ventral mantle surface and a lower arm sucker count (O'Shea, 1999). Some specimens of G. glacialis, at least, also have a much lighter ventral mantle (see photos under "Pigmentation" for that species).

Distribution

Type locality: Off Adelie Land, Antarctic waters at 66°55'S, 145°21'E, 530-550 m.

References

O’Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.

Vecchione, M., U. Piatkowski and A. L. Allcock. 1998. Biology of the cirrate octopod Grimpoteuthis glacialis (Cephalopoda; Opisthoteuthidae) in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. S. Afr. J. Mar. Sci. 20: 421-428.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Cirroctopus mawsoni
Reference Berry, S.S. 1917. Cephalopoda. Scientific Reports of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914, (series C)14(2):1-39.
View Ventral
Type Holotype
Scientific Name Cirroctopus mawsoni
Reference Berry, S.S. 1917. Cephalopoda. Scientific Reports of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 1911-1914, (series C)14(2):1-39.
View Side
Type Holotype
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Cirroctopus mawsoni. 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. 2003. Cirroctopus mawsoni. Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Cirroctopus_mawsoni/20111/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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