Note

Cirrothauma magna Description Continued

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
  1. Arms
    1. Arms 3.5 - 5 times ML.
    2. All arms with 29 prominent proximal suckers, diameter small.
    3. Suckers 5-7 cyclindrical with thick, stout stalk, separated by 1 cm,
    4. Following suckers, separated by 2-3 cm, with long stalks, and and with "small circular opening surrounded by very narrow rim in the upper part, with narrow infundibulum; acetabulum [a] broad chamber surrounded by highly deformable fleshy membrane in such a way that the acetabulum is able to inflate and deflate, forming spherical, flattened or half-closed eyelid."
    5. Proximal suckers commonly appear folded.
    6. Distal suckers (suckers number 30 +) abruptly different appearance: muscular with spherical base embedded in arm, bowl or barrel-shaped distal portion; suckers sessile.
    7. Distal suckers gradually increase in size to SDI 4.6 then decrease to arm tip.
    8. First minute cirri between suckers 4 and 5.
    9. Maximum cirri length (CiLI 71-95) 10-14 times sucker diameter.
    10. 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 an arm of C. magna, male, mature, 220 mm ML, showing arrangement of suckers and cirri. Distal half on top, proximal half on bottom. Drawing from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  2. Mantle cavity
    1. Gills sepioid with 5-6 primary lamellae in outer demibranch.
    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. Left - Ventral view of the mantle cavity of C. magna, mature male 220 mm ML. Right - "Top" view of the gills of C. magna, mature male 220 mm ML. Drawing and photograph from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  3. Digestive system
    1. Forms a simple loop.
    2. Digestive gland heart-shaped and olive-green color.
    3. Radula absent.
    4. Caecum larger than stomach, not forming spiral.
    5. 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 view of the digestive tract of C. magna, mature male 220 mm ML. Drawing from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  4. Male reproductive system
    1. Accessory glands large; three glands covered by dark purple sac.
    2. Penis small, cyclindrical.
    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. Male reproductive system of C. magna, mature male 220 mm ML. Drawing from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  5. Female reproductive system
    1. Distal portion of oviducal gland much larger than proximal portion.
    2. Distal and proximal oviducts short.
    3. Largest oocytes in ovary 10x8 mm.
    4. 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. Female reproductive system of C. magna, submature female, 140 mm ML. Drawing from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  6. Shell
    1. Butterfly-shaped.
    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. Shell of C. magna, submature female, 140 mm ML. Left - Dorsal view. Right - ventral view. Drawings from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  7. Beaks
    1. Beaks large, thick and robust.
    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. Beaks of C. magna, mature male 220 mm ML. Left - Upper beak, lateral view.  Middle - Lower beak, lateral view. Right - Lower beak, ventral view. Drawings from Guerra, et al., 1998.

  8. Pigmentation
    1. Arms translucent.
    2. Body and arms vary from pale white to purple.
    3. Oral surfaces of arms and web darkest, purple or purple-brown.
    4. Suckers lack pigmentation.
    5. Cirri chesnut-brown.
    6. Esophagus dark purple-black; stomach brown; caecum gray; intestine dark purple.

  9. Measurements and counts.
  10. Sex       measurements in mm Female Holotype Male Female
    Mantle length 175 220 140
    Total length 1155 1075 870
    Head width 100 105 89
    Mantle width 125 170 80
    Fin length 200 156 130
    Fin width 76 74 65
    Fin span 513 483 321
    Eye diameter - 85 60
    Lens diameter 29 28 25
    Mantle opening 22 22 20
    Arm I, length 875/875 748/790 690/-
    Arm II, length 870/875 710/700 -/-
    Arm III, length 870/890 685/690 -/-
    Arm IV, length 838/915 745/565 -/-
    Cirrus length, max. 80 72 85
    Sucker diameter, max. 8 9 6
    Gill length 37 25 24
    Gill width 30 27 20
    Gill lamellae/demibranch 5/5 6/6 5/6
    Penis length   6  
    Shell width 85 66.5 61.5
    Shell saddle length 22 20 18.7

    Measurements are taken from Guerra, et al., 1998.

Comments

The above description is taken from Guerra, et al., 1998.

References

Guerra, R., R. Villanueva, K. N. Nesis and J. Bedoya. 1998. Redescription of the deep-sea cirrate octopod Cirroteuthis magna Hoyle, 1885, and considerations on the genus Cirroteuthis (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). Bull. Mar. Sci., 63: 51-81.

About This Page
All drawings and photographs from Guerra, et al., 1998, printed with the Permission of the Bulletin of Marine Science.


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Cirrothauma magna Description Continued 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.

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