Oh my goodness! Unless you are a Tree of Life developer, you really shouldn't be here. This page is part of our beta test site, where we develop new features for the ToL, often messing up a thing or two in the process. Please visit the official version of this page, which is available here.
Under Construction

Pickfordiateuthis Voss, 1953

Grass squid

Michael Vecchione
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
The following four species have been described (one has not been named) in Pickfordiateuthis.
taxon links [down<--]Loliginidae Interpreting the tree
close box

This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

close box
Type species.-- Pickfordiateuths pulchella Voss, 1953, by monotypy.
Containing group: Loliginidae

Introduction

These are small (22 mm ML max.), muscular squids that occupy neritic waters often in association with small patch reefs and seagrass (Voss, 1953). In spite of the accessible habitat, the squid is rarely captured and little is known of its biology.

Brief diagnosis:

A loliginid ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Suckers in two series.

  2. Tentacles
    1. Club suckers on manus in two series; suckers on dactylus in four series or in two series.
      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 the tentacular club of P. pulchella, 22 mm ML, female, holotype, off Florida Keys. Drawing from Voss (1953).

  3. Head
    1. Buccal supports without suckers.

  4. Fins
    1. Fins subterminal.
    2. Fins oval with free anterior and posterior lobes.
    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 posterior mantle and fins of P. pulchella, 22 mm ML, holotype, preserved. Photograph by R. Young. Right - Dorsal view of the same specimen. Drawing modified from Voss (1953).

  5. Photophores
    1. Absent.

Comments

The general shape varies greatly between species. P. pulchella is broad with relatively large arms and fins; P. bayeri and P. vossi are slender with small arms and fins. The latter two look look much like a young Doryteuthis.

Brakoniecki (1996) submerged the family Pickfordiateuthidae into the Loliginidae.

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. Dorsal view of P. bayeri in a shipboard aquarium.

Other Names for Pickfordiateuthis Voss, 1953

References

Brakoniecki, T. F. 1996. A revision of the genus Pickfordiateuthis Voss, 1953 (Cephalopoda; Myopsida). Bull. Mar. Sci. 58: 9-28.

Roper, C.F.E. and M. Vecchione. 2001. Pickfordiateuthis bayeri n. sp., a new species of squid (Cephalopoda: Loliginidae) from the western North Atlantic Ocean discovered by submersible. Bull. Biol. Soc. Wash. 10:301-310.

Voss, G. L. 1953. A new family, genus and species of myopsid squid from the Florida keys. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Carib. 2: 602-609.

Title Illustrations
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
Scientific Name Pickfordiateuthis pulchella
Location off Florida
Specimen Condition Live Specimen
Copyright © 1996
About This Page


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

Page: Tree of Life Pickfordiateuthis Voss, 1953. Grass squid. Authored by 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:

Vecchione, Michael. 2008. Pickfordiateuthis Voss, 1953. Grass squid. Version 04 March 2008 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Pickfordiateuthis/19861/2008.03.04 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Pickfordiateuthis

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top