Under Construction

Promachoteuthis sp. D

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
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The catalogue number of the only know specimen is: USNM 00730701.
Containing group: Promachoteuthidae

Introduction

Promachoteuthis sp. D is known from a single incomplete specimen.

Diagnosis

A promachoteuthid...

Characteristics

  1. Arms and tentacles
    1. Arm suckers mostly in two series but tend toward three series in mid-arm.
    2. Tentacles missing due to damage; remaining stubs about 75% as thick as bases of arms III.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Oral view of left arm IV of Promachoteuthis sp. D. Photograph by R. Young.

  2. Head
    1. Head fused to mantle in nuchal region.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Dorsolateral view of the head and anterior mantle of Promachoteuthis sp. D showing nuchal fusion. Photograph by R. Young.

  3. Beaks
    1. Beaks, buccal mass very large (length about 6.5 mm). Beak descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Lateral (left) and ventral (right) views of the head and brachial crown of Promachoteuthis sp. D showing large size of buccal mass. Note the broken stubs of the tentacles in the photographs. Photographs by R. Young.

Comments

More details of the description can be found here.

Unfortunately the specimen is not in good condition. Previous investigators cut open the mantle then partially dissected the squid prior to fixation and, subsequently, the gladius was removed. In addition, the tentacles are missing. In spite of these problems, this is a very distinctive species. Considerable shrinkage has occurred which overemphasizes the size of the buccal mass (see Measurements and counts).

Life History

Ovary and nidamental glands had been removed by an earlier investigator and placed in a separate vial. The vial contains mostly large, free, equally-sized, mature eggs (ca. 170 eggs at 1.8 mm x 1.5 mm) with very few intermediate size and a small number of small oocytes still attached to the ovarian strands. The photograph on the right shows

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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Ventral view of most of the mantle cavity and two eggs of Promachoteuthis sp. D placed beside it for size comparison. The large posterior dark area in the visceral sac is where the ovary was removed. Compare photograph with title photograph to clarify orientation. Photograph by R. Young.

Distribution

Type locality: 16°35'E, 34°15'S in the south Atlantic Ocean. Captured from the WALTHER HERWIG at 1550 m depth.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Promachoteuthis sp. D
Comments Bar = 5 mm
Creator Keiko Hiratsuka Moore
Acknowledgements National Marine Fisheries Service
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
Sex Female
View Dorsal and ventral
Type Holotype
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright ©
Scientific Name Promachoteuthis sp. D
Comments Holotype
Specimen Condition Dead Specimen
View Dorsal, ventral
Size 16 mm ML
Image Use creative commons This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0.
Copyright © 2003
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Promachoteuthis sp. D. 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. Promachoteuthis sp. D. Version 01 January 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Promachoteuthis_sp._D/19532/2003.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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