- Arms
- Arm formula: II=III=IV>I
- Armature in four series: arms I-III with 2 medial series of hooks (replaced by suckers at arm tips) and 2 marginal series of suckers; arm IV with suckers only.
- All arm suckers with similar dentition: Ca. 9-13 pointed teeth distally grading to smooth region proximally.
- In large squid, suckers of medial series of arms IV largest, followed by marginal suckers of arms IV, then the marginal suckers of arms III.
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Side and oral views of arm armature of G. californiensis, 112 mm ML, holotype. Left - Large hook and inner ring of a large marginal sucker of arm I. Right - Inner ring of large medial series sucker (left) and of large marginal sucker (right) of arm IV. Drawings from Young (1972).
- Tentacles
- Primary locking-apparatus with 4-6 thick ridges, each with medial sucker and alternating knobs.
- Largest suckers of ventral-marginal series with 8-10 teeth on distal 2/3 of inner ring; these suckers smaller than largest arm suckers.
- Dorsal margin of tentacular stalk with series of alternating suckers and pads along most of stalk length; distal few suckers each with additional small, thick ridge.
- Ventral margin of tentacular stalk with single series of suckers along most of stalk length. Number of suckers in ventral series ca. 90-120% of those in dorsal series.
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Figure. Side and oral views of club armature of G. californiensis, 112 mm ML, holotype. A - Central hook. B - Distal hook. C - First proximal hook. D - Inner ring of largest sucker of ventral marginal zone. E - Inner ring of sucker from the middle of the dactylus, ventral series. F - Inner ring of a sucker taken one-fifth of the tentacle length from the base of the club. Drawings from Young (1972).
- Measurements and counts
Character \ Station no.
8114 8116
7411 8114 8114
9960
7157
7157
7410
7221
Sex -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Male --
Holotype
Gladius length 29 52 48 34 38 46 50 52 107 112 Mantle width 9 15 13 11 11 15 13 14 22 21 Fin Length
10 20 20 12 13 -- 19 21 52 49 Fin width 18 36 30 23 25 32 31 32 58 60 Arm length, I 9 20 20 13 14 19 18 19 43 47 AL, II
12 24 24 16 18 24 23 24 50 56 AL, III
12 25 24 16 18 23 23 24 53 58 AL, IV
10 23 23 14 17 22 22 25 55 62 Arm sucker count*, I
31 30 30 33 31 34 35 35 40 44 AS, II
36 36 35 38 36 37 38 40 40 47 AS, III
38 38 35 36 36 38 39 39 41 45 AS, IV
37 50 44 42 41 48 50 51 56 57 Tentacle length
19 43 47 23 31 37 -- 38 97 80 Club length
6 10 10 8 9 10 10 10 18 19 Club sucker count
241 269 235 234 225 233 217 236 219 259 Stalk sucker count, dorsal series
-- 45 59 55 59 30 48 22+ 40+ 57 SSC, ventral series
-- 66 71 68 72 78 65 -- -- 82 SSC, medial region
-- 80 80 73 67 80 67 -- -- 90
Gonatus californiensis: Description continued
F. G. Hochberg and Richard E. YoungAbout This Page
F. G. Hochberg
Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, Santa Barbara, California, USA
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Page copyright © 2006 F. G. Hochberg and
All Rights Reserved.
