Note

Grimalditeuthis bonplandi: Description continued

Richard E. Young and Clyde F. E. Roper
  1. Arms
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    Figure. Somewhat abraided slender, fragile, lightly pigmented arms of G. bonplandi that lack protective membranes. The insert shows an enlarged view of one of the suckers and clearly shows one of the three papillae at the base of the sucker stalk. These papillae are diagnostic of Grimalditeuthis. The right photograph shows a closer view of the arm bases with the beaks and buccal membrane. The latter has a few, scattered chromatophores. Photographs by R. Young.

  2. Photophores
    1. Arm tips may be photophores in mature females.
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      Figure. Ventral view of the head of a large G. bonplandi (150 mm ML) described by Joubin (1898). The dorsal six arms have dark tips; the insert is an enlargement of one of the arm tips.. The ventral arms have lost their tips. The heavily pigmented region is presumably photogenetic and, if so, the pigment would withdraw when light is emitted. Arm tips bare of suckers are characteristic of immature females but not males. We have examined a mature male and it lacks arm-tip photophores. The sex and state of maturity of the specimen illustrated below from Joubin, 1898 are unknown. Presumably the arm-tip photophores are characteristic of mature or nearly mature females. Painting from Joubin (1898.

References

Joubin, L. 1898b. Observations sur divers Céphalopodes. Quatrieme note: Grimalditeuthis richardi. Bulletin de la Societe Zoologique de France, 23:101-113.

Young, R. E. (1991). Chiroteuthid and related paralarvae from Hawaiian waters. Bull. Mar. Sci., 49: 162-185.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., USA

Page: Tree of Life Grimalditeuthis bonplandi: Description continued Authored by Richard E. Young and Clyde F. E. Roper. 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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