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Opisthoteuthis depressa: Description Continued
Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
- Eyes
- Large, diameter 1/2 head width.
- Funnel
- Funnel organ not described.
- Fins
- Length 1.5-2.0 times width.
- Gills
- Number of gill lamellae not described.
- Optic lobe and nerves
- Not described.
- Digestive tract
- Not described.
- Beaks
- Not described.
- Male and female reproductive system
- Not described.
- Shell
- Nearly straight in young, U-shaped in adults.
- Saddle with figure 8 cross-section.
- Wings tips conical.

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Figure. Shell of O. depressa. A - Posterior view of holotype. B - Posterior view of wing showing cross-section, same shell. C - Dorsal view, adult male. D - Posterior view of wing showing cross-sections, same shell. Drawings from Sasaki, 1929.
- Pigmentation
- Aboral surfaces deep gray.
- Oral surfaces mostly reddish violet.
- Lips, cirri, margins of suckers and undersurfaces of fins lighter hue.
- Areolae - Pink, mostly in 8 rows. Anterior 4 rows each with 8-9 areolae. Rows begin behind eye prominences and extend forward along mid-aboral surface of arms I and II. Posterior 4 rows each with 8-9 areolae. Rows begin behind fins and extend along mid-aboral surface of arms III and IV. Additional areolae: One on upper surface of funnel; 2 on web near fin bases.

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Figure. Aboral view of small (ca. 135 mm max. width) female of O. depressa. Drawing from Sasaki, 1929.
- Measurements
Sex | Male | Female |
Head width, mm | 38 | 35 |
Fin length | 18 | 15 |
Fin width | 12 | 10 |
Arm I, length | 125 | 100 |
Arm II, length | 130 | 104 |
Arm III, length | 135 | 110 |
Arm IV, length | 132 | 110 |
Max. sucker diameter | 9-10 | 2 |
Comments
The above description is taken from Sasaki, 1929.
References
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.
About This Page
Richard E. Young
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
Michael Vecchione
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA
Page copyright © 2002
Richard E. Young
and
Michael Vecchione
Page: Tree of Life
Opisthoteuthis depressa: Description Continued
Authored by
Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione.
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