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Opisthoteuthis albatrossi (Sasaki 1920)

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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Containing group: Opisthoteuthis

Introduction

O. albatrossi was originally described from four specimens and placed in the genus Stauroteuthis. The enlarged suckers, however, clearly show that it belongs in the genus Opisthoteuthis. Another similar species of Opisthoteuthis (O. californiana) occurs in Japanese waters but has never been closely compared with O. albatrossi because of the latter's incorrect generic placement.

Characteristics

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Figure. Oral view of the dordal arms of Opisthoteuthis albatrossi.  Drawing from Sasaki, 1929.

  1. Arms and web
    1. Male: Each arm I with 3 greatly enlarged suckers (plus 2 or 3 suckers of intermediate size) in distal field.
    2. Proximal field absent (Nesis, 1982/87).
    3. Suckers number "80 or more" on each arm.
    4. Largest arm suckers (except for distal field of arms I) are suckers 6-7.
    5. Web along ventral arm margins with "faint nodule-like thickening."

Comments

More details of the description of O. albatrossi can be found here.

O. albatrossi and O. californiana are distinctive among species of Opisthoteuthis in having greatly enlarged suckers in the distal field only on arms I. The holotype of O. albatrossi is a young male and the proximal field may not have developed. These two species could be synonyms (Hochberg, pers. comm.)

Life History

Mature ovarian egg measured 10 x 7 mm.

Distribution

Type locality: Off Kinkasan, Rikuzen Prov., Japan. Northern Pacific boreal species, known from Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea and Southern California (Nesis, 1982/87).

References

Nesis, K. N. 1982/87. 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

Sasaki, M. 1929. A monograph of the dibranchiate cephalopods of the Japanese and adjacent waters. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University, 20(Supplementary number):1-357.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Opisthoteuthis albatrossi
Reference Sasaki, M. 1929. A monograph of the dibranchiate cephalopods of the Japanese and adjacent waters. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University, 20(Supplementary number):1-357.
Sex Male
View ventral
Size ca. 150 mm TL
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Opisthoteuthis albatrossi (Sasaki 1920). 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. Opisthoteuthis albatrossi (Sasaki 1920). Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Opisthoteuthis_albatrossi/20152/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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