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.
Note

Mastigoteuthis dentata: Type description with notes on squid from the type locality

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione

Introduction

Hoyle (1904) based his description of M. dentata on two specimens from the Eastern Tropical Pacific, neither had tentacles. One specimen (male, 72 mm ML, captured off Cape Mala, Panama), subsequently, was designated as the lectotype as the other has been lost (Young, 1972). Young (1972) reported additional features from a damaged specimen taken off Cape Mala.

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arm suckers with teeth on distal half of inner ring (Hoyle, 1904); Distal half with long, pointed teeth blending into short, broadly truncate teeth proximally, 23 teeth total (Young, 1972, Cape Mala specimens, drawing on near right, bottom).
    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. Oral view of arm suckers of M. dentata. Left - Arm III, Cape Mala, lectotype. Drawing from Young (1972). Middle - Arm IV. Drawing from Hoyle (1904). Right - Oral view of proximal segment of the outer ring of an arm IV sucker. Drawing from Hoyle (1904).

  2. Tentacles
    1. Length apparently half of tentacle length (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).
    2. Suckers in 35-40 series (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).
    3. Largest suckers ca one third of club length from distal end (Young, 1972, Cape Mala specimens).
    4. Basal club suckers smaller and less thickly spaced (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).
    5. Suckers decrease in size near lateral margins of club (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).
    6. Club sucker circular, rings with virtually smooth inner margins.
    7. Outer rings of club suckers with 12-14 small pegs projecting slightly into aperature.
    8. Club sucker diameter 0.13-0.16 mm (P.L. 92 mm)
    9. 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. dentata, Cape Mala, lectotype. Left - Inner ring. Right - Outer ring. Drawings from Young (1972).

  3. Funnel
    1. Funnel locking-apparatus with tragus and weak antitragus; area of antitragus well undercut (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).

  4. Mantle
    1. Tubercules absent.

  5. Fins
    1. 43-67% of ML (Hoyle, 1904). 66-67% of ML (Young, 1972, Cape Mala specimens).

  6. Photophores
    1. Integumental photophores cover body (Young, 1972, based on lectotype).
    2. Eyelid photophore present (Young, 1972, examination of lectotype).
    3. Arms IV appear to have two series of photophores (see photograph below).
    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. Ventral view of the base of arm IV of M. dentata, lectotype (previously desicated), showing arrangement of photophores. Photograph by R. Young.

  7. Measurements
    Source Hoyle, 1904
    Mantle length 72
    Mantle width 17
    Head width 17?
    Fin length 48
    Fin width 52
    Arm I, length: Right / Left 37 / 38
    Arm II, length 44 / 47
    Arm III, length 45 / 42
    Arm IV, length 87 / 78
    *Measurements in mm.

Distribution

Type locality: Gulf of Panama, off Cape Mala, Panama at 7°21'N, 79°35'W. The original description included two specimens, one from off Cape Mala and the other from near the Galapagos Isl. Since the Cape Mala specimen has been designated as the lectotype, its place of capture becomes the type locality.

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 dentata: Type description with notes on squid from the type locality 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.

close box

This page is a note that is attached to a leaf of the Tree of Life.

ToL notes provide brief accounts of characteristics, short summaries, commentaries, media files, taxonomic information, or identification tools for a given group of organisms.

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

Mastigoteuthis dentata

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top