Planctoteuthis danae: Description continued

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Figure. Side view of a mature male of P. danae, 92 mm ML, in a shipboard aquarium. Note the thick gelatinous layer over the mantle, tail, head and arm bases. This layer is, presumably, vacuolated and aids buoyancy. Photograph by Karen Osborn.



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Figure. Ventral view of P. danae, 47 mm ML. Drawing from Roper and Young (1967).

1. Arms
   1. Arm lengths: arms I: 38-44% of ML (subadults); arms III: 50-55% of ML (subadults); arms IV: 74-91% of ML (subadults).
   2. Arm I with ca. 40 pairs of suckers; arm II with 45 pairs of suckers; arm III with 35 pairs of suckers; arm IV with 12 suckers on proximal quarter (Joubin, 1931).
      
   3. Largest arm suckers in small squid with 7-9 small, blunt teeth on distal margin of ring; proximally teeth fuse into a virtually smooth ring.
   4. Lateral arms in holotype with two greatly enlarged (2-3 times larger) suckers; enlarged suckers at position of sucker pairs 15 and 16 on arms II and 18 and 19 on arms III (Joubin, 1931).
   
   
   

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   Figure. Oral views of arm III (top) and arm IV of P. danae, holotype, ca 65 mm ML. Drawings from Joubin (1931).

   

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   Figure. Side view of arm III of P. danae, holotype, ca. 65 mm ML, showing two suckers with initial enlargement in mid-arm. Photograph by R. Young.

   

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   Figure. Left - Oral views of large arm suckers of P. danae, 47 mm ML, eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. A-D - Suckers from arms I-IV respectively. Drawings from Roper and Young (1967). Right - Oral view of early stage of enlargement of sucker of a lateral arm, holotype. Drawing from Joubin (1931).
   

2. Tentacular clubs
   1. Club of holotype with about 60 suckers (Joubin, 1931).
   2. Club length 12-18% of ML.
      
   3. "Carpal" suckers on club with broader apertures than regular club suckers.
      
      
3. Viscera
   1. Reproductive structures
      
      

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      Figure. Views of the viscera of P. danae. Left - Ventrolateral view of the nearly mature female, 130 mm ML. Photograph by xxxxx. Right - Ventral view of the just mature Male, 92 mm ML. Photograph by Karen Osborn.
      

Comments

This description is from Roper and Young (1967) unless otherwise indicated.