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Mastigoteuthis agassizii Group: Comparison of club suckers

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione

This page compares the peg sizes in the inner-most whorl of the largest club suckers of various individuals. Ideally comparisons should be made with squid of all the same size due to the increase in lateral peg size with mantle lenght in some species. Unfortunately this was not possible; therefore, pay close attention to squid mantle lengths.

  1. North Atlantic: M. agassizii - 53°N the temperate/boreal form, and 37°N the temperate/boreal form ?
    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 views of large club suckers. Left - M. agassizii, 62 mm ML, immature male, 52°45'N, 35°57'W. Right - M. agassizii, 72 mm ML, immature female, 37°15'N, 73°54'W. Squid are a bit small but exhibit no marked increase in size of lateral pegs.

  2. North Atlantic: M. agassizii - ca. 26°N (Gulf of Mexico) the tropical form
    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 views of the club suckers of M. agassizii, SC 95-T8G of M, 82 mm ML, immature male. Left - Proximal region of large club suckers. Right - Distal region of large club suckers. Both regions of the club show increased sizes of lateral pegs.

  3. South Atlantic: M. agassizii - 13°S the tropical form.
    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 club sucker of M. agassizii WH-455, 70 mm ML, immat. male, 13°10'S, 09°00'W.

  4. South Atlantic: 39°S. M. psychrophila, M. agassizii the tropical form
    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 views of club suckers, 39°19'S, 03°15'W. Left - Tilted sucker , 64 mm ML. Right - Unattached club, ML unknown, but rather large. This station caught two species and we believe the suckers here represent M. psychophila (left) and M. agassizii (right).

  5. Southern ocean, 63°S. M. psychrophila
    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 views of large club suckers from two specimens of M. psychrophila, Left - NMNH 817378, 100 mm ML, immature female. Right - NMNH 884836, 85 mm ML, immature male, 62°50'S. 114°30'W. These large individuals show uniform peg size in the inner whorl of the outer ring.

  6. Equatorial Pacific Ocean: 6°N. M. dentata
    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 views of club suckers of M. dentata, 135 mm ML, mature male, 5°53'N, 150°01'W. Left - Sucker from distal region of club. Right - Sucker from near base of club. Note prominent teeth on inner sucker ring.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Richard E. Young at and Michael Vecchione at

Page: Tree of Life Mastigoteuthis agassizii Group: Comparison of club suckers 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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