Note

Grimpoteuthis abyssicola: Description Continued

Steve O'Shea and Richard E. Young
  1. Digestive system
    1. Radula absent.
    2. Salivary glands absent.
    3. Intestine and oesophagus about equal in length.
    4. Digestive gland unilobular.
    5. 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. Side view of digestive system of G. abyssicola. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  2. Female reproductive system
    1. Proximal oviduct twice length of distal oviduct.
    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. Female reproductive system of G. abyssicola. Note the eggs in the proximal oviduct. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  3. Gills
    1. Half-orange shape.
    2. 8 primary lamellae (total).
    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. Ventral view of the mantle cavity of G. abyssicola showing gills, female reproductive tract and anus. Note the female oviduct terminating in a large papilla. Just anterior to the papilla is the dark anus. Photograph from O'Shea (1999).

  4. Optic lobe complex
    1. Optic lobe spherical
    2. Single optic nerve bundle penetrates white body.
    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. Optic lobe, nerve bundle and white body of G. abyssicola. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  5. Eyes
    1. Large.

  6. Beaks
    1. Upper beak with rostrum slightly deflected down; weak lateral-wall fold; rounded crest.
    2. Lower beak with deep hood (50% of beak length); lateral wings with two weak folds.
    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. Side view of beaks of G. abyssicola. Left - Upper beak. Right - Lower beak. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  7. Pigmentation
    1. Mantle and head tissues translucent.
    2. Arms and web tissues deep purple, not translucent.
    3. Sucker aperatures orange-brown.

  8. Measurements
    1. Measurements and counts can be found here .

Comments

The above description is from O'Shea, 1999.

References

O'Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.

About This Page

Steve O'Shea
Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA

All Rights Reserved.

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Grimpoteuthis abyssicola

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