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Discoteuthis discus Young and Roper 1969

Richard E. Young
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Containing group: Discoteuthis

Introduction

Discoteuthis discus is most easily separated from its congeners by the arrangement of photophores and the form of the funnel locking-apparatus.

Brief diagnosis: 

A Discoteuthis ... 

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arms weak, approximately subequal and 60-85% of ML.
    2. Large arm suckers with few low, broad, rounded teeth mostly on distal margin.
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      Figure. Oral views of large arms suckers of D. discus, 45 mm ML. Left to right - Sucker of arms I-IV respectively. Drawing from Young and Roper (1969).

  2. Tentacles
    1. Dactylus with suckers in four series throughout.
    2. Medial suckers on manus of club globular relative to D. laciniosa (inner ring height ca 60% of diameter compared to 35% of diameter).
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      Figure. Left - Side views of large manus suckers from D. discus (45 mm ML) and D. laciniosa (56 mm ML, paratype). Right - Oral views of a large sucker from manus and a much smaller sucker from the dactylus of D. discus, 45 mm ML, showing dentition. Drawings from Young and Roper (1969).

    3. Largest club suckers with numerous low, flattened or rounded teeth around entire inner ring.
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      Figure. Oral view of the tentacular club of D. discus. TOP - 53 mm ML, holotype. Drawing from Young and Roper (1969). BOTTOM - XX mm ML. Photograph by Danté Fenolio.

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

  4. Funnel
    1. Locking-apparatus with diagonally positioned groove.
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      Figure. Frontal view of the funnel locking-apparatus of D. discus, 45 mm ML. Drawing from Young and Roper (1969).

  5. Mantle
    1. Free anterior margin of mantle smooth (i.e., flaps lacking).

  6. Photophores
    1. At least 4 organs on margin of eyelid.
    2. One dark, round organ on ventral surface near posterior tip of mantle.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral view of posterior tip of mantle and fins of D. discus, 53 mm ML, holotype. Drawing modified from Young and Roper (1969).

  7. Gladius
    1. Conus absent.
    2. 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 gladius of D. discus, 53 mML, holotype, with cross-sections shown above. Drawing from Young and Roper (1969).

Life History

The smallest known D. discus is 16 mm ML (Young and Roper, 1969). At this size, the fins are about 60% of the ML and reach 98% of the ML in squid of 45 mm ML. Mature individuals are not known.

Distribution

The type locality is off Ghana, West Africa (03 deg 50'M. 02 deg 37'W) in the tropical East Atlantic. This species is known from the tropical and subtropical Atlantic and the central North Pacific (M. Seki, pers. comm.).

References

Young, R. E. and C. F. E. Roper. 1969. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic: The family Cycloteuthidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 5:1-24.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Discoteuthis discus
Location Off West Africa, 4°N, 3°W
Reference from Young, R. E. and C. F. E. Roper. 1969. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic: The family Cycloteuthidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology No. 5:1-24.
View Ventral
Size 53 mm ML
Type holotype
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
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About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

Page: Tree of Life Discoteuthis discus Young and Roper 1969. Authored by 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:

Young, Richard E. 2019. Discoteuthis discus Young and Roper 1969. Version 26 March 2019 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Discoteuthis_discus/19625/2019.03.26 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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