Under Construction

Iridoteuthis sp. A

Richard E. Young, Caroline Sanchez, and Valerie Allain
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Containing group: Iridoteuthis

Introduction

Two specimens, one mature male and one immature female, both about 23 mm DML, were taken from the stomach of the lancet fish, Alepisaurus ferox off New Caledonia in 2004. The specimens were frozen then fixed in 70% ethanol and are in fairly good condition.

Brief diagnosis:

An Iridoteuthis ...

Characteristics

  1. Arms
    1. Arm I-III suckers in two series without some being unusually enlarged or reduced in size relative to other suckers on same or adjacent arms.
    2. Males
      1. Arms I in males with complex elaboration of protective membranes, especially that of ventral margin; details unclear.
      2. Males with suckers enlarged, relative to females, on all arms, expecially so on arms I-III (compare photographs below).
      3. 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 brachial crown of Iridoteuthis sp. A, mature male, showing enlarged suckers on arms I-III and elongate flag on right arm III (left side of photograph). Photograph by R. Young.

    3. Females
      1. Arms I and III of females with bare tips; extreme tip of arm III further modified but structure not clear..
      2. Females with suckers on arms IV essentially in two size groups: proximal 3/5ths with larger suckers, distal 2/5ths with small suckers.
      3. 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 brachial crown of a female Iridoteuthis sp. A. Photograph by R. Young.

    4. More pictures of the arms can be seen here.

    5. Head
      1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.

    Comments

    More details of the description of Iridoteuthis sp. A can be found here. 

    Comparison with Iridoteuthis iris: See the Iridoteuthis page for a table comparing the most obvious differences between the two species.

    The first pair of arms of the male were covered on their oral surface by a membranous substance that may have combined with congealed mucous. At first it appeared to be an artifact consisting of accumulated cuticle that was pealing off much of the animal in conjunction with congealed mucous. Closer inspection suggests that it is, at least in part, an elaboration of the ventral protective membrane.

    Only one of the four clubs examined had not been partially dried and it was strongly coiled. This combined with the unusual structure of the club has made interpretation of its structure difficult and uncertain (see Iridoteuthis sp. A: Description continued). 

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Iridoteuthis sp. A
Location Off New Caledonia
Creator Caroline Sanchez, Richard Young
Specimen Condition Unfixed (frozen and thawed), fixed
Sex Female
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About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


Secretariat of the Pacific Community


Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Noumea, New Caledonia

Page: Tree of Life Iridoteuthis sp. A. Authored by Richard E. Young, Caroline Sanchez, and Valerie Allain. 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:

Young, Richard E., Caroline Sanchez, and Valerie Allain. 2014. Iridoteuthis sp. A. Version 21 January 2014 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Iridoteuthis_sp._A/111802/2014.01.21 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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