Batoteuthis
| Bush-club squid | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Superfamily: | Chiroteuthoidea |
| Family: | Batoteuthidae Young & Roper, 1968 |
| Genus: | Batoteuthis Young & Roper, 1968 |
| Species: | B. skolops
|
| Binomial name | |
| Batoteuthis skolops | |
Batoteuthis skolops, the bush-club squid, is the single rare species in genus Batoteuthis, which is the only genus in family Batoteuthidae. The squid is found in Antarctic waters, and reaches a mantle length of at least 350 mm (14 in). Some features of this creature are a small head, a long tail and a very peculiar tentacle, with six series of suckers on the club.
The genus contains bioluminescent species.[2]
Distribution
[edit]B. skolops occurs in the Southern Ocean.[3] Its range may be circumpolar with a strict Antarctic distribution[4] and it may live in bathypelagic depths.
Ecology
[edit]This squid is eaten by several predators in the Southern Ocean, like albatrosses and sperm whales.
Their diet is unknown, but 15N ratios showed high values in their tissues[4] which point towards either a high trophic level, or living in great depths (or both).
References
[edit]- ^ Julian Finn (2016). "Batroteuthis skolops Young & Roper, 1968". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
- ^ Herring, Peter J. (1987). "Systematic distribution of bioluminescence in living organisms". Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. 1 (3): 147–163. doi:10.1002/bio.1170010303. PMID 3503524.
- ^ Xavier, J.C. & Rodhouse, P.G. & Trathan, P.N. & Wood, A.G. 1999. A Geographical Information System (GIS) Atlas of cephalopod distribution in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science, Published online on May 6, 2004 doi:10.1017/S0954102099000097
- ^ a b Guerreiro, Miguel & Phillips, Richard A & Cherel, Yves & Ceia, Filipe R & Alvito, Pedro & Rosa, Rui & Xavier, José C. 2015. Habitat and trophic ecology of Southern Ocean cephalopods from stable isotope analyses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, published online on June 18, 2015. doi:10.3354/meps11266
External links
[edit]- "CephBase: Batoteuthis". Archived from the original on 2005-08-17.
- Tree of Life web project: Batoteuthis skolops
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