Note

Cephalopod Fin Attachment

Richard E. Young, Michael Vecchione, and Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003)

Cephalopoda Glossary


A Fin generally attaches, via cartilage, to the shell (actually to a tough membrane, the shell-sac that secretes the shell, or to an outpocketing of the shell sac) (Figs. A and B), the opposite fin (Fig. C) or to some combination of these two. Some, however, attach directly to the muscular mantle (Figs. D and E) over most of their length. Since the mantle flexes, the attachment cannot be rigid and a detached portion of the shell-sac enables slippage. Sometimes these latter fins are easily dislodged from the mantle in preserved animals.

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Figure. A - Pterygioteuthis sp., modified from Naef, 1921-23. B - Discoteuthis sp., modified from Young and Roper, 1969. C - Octopoteuthis sp., modified from Young and Roper, 1969. D - Loligo vulgaris, modified from Naef, 1921-23. E - Sepia officinalis, modified from Naef, 1921-23.


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Figure. Side view of the head, anterior mantle and fin of Thysanoteuthis rhombus. The fin  attaches to the side of the mantle which is unusual in oegopsid squids. Photograph by R. Young.

References

Naef, A. 1921-1923. Die Cephalopoden. Fauna e Flora del Golfo di Napoli, Monographie 35, Vol I, Parts I and II, Systematik, pp 1-863.

Young, R. E. and C. F. E. Roper (1969). A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic: The family Cycloteuthidae. Smithson. Contr. Zool., No. 5: 1-24.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003)
Laboratoire Arago, Banyuls-Sur-Mer, France

Page: Tree of Life Cephalopod Fin Attachment Authored by Richard E. Young, Michael Vecchione, and Katharina M. Mangold (1922-2003). 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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