Complete

Selenoteuthis Voss, 1958

Selenoteuthis scintillans Voss, 1958

Moon Squid

Michael Vecchione
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This genus contains a single species
Containing group: Lycoteuthidae

Introduction

These are small squid reaching about 45 mm ML and known only from the tropical to subtropical North Atlantic.
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Figure. S. scintillans, female, 35 mm ML. Photograph by M. Vecchione. Note the much smaller size of the photophore at the tip of the tail (arrow) compared to that of the male in the title photograph.

Brief diagnosis:

A lycoteuthin ...

Characteristics

  1. Head
    1. Beaks: Descriptions can be found here: Lower beak; upper beak.

  2. Photophores.
    1. Five ventral ocular photophores in a straight line.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral views of the eyeball of S. scintillans showing ocular photophores. Left - female. Right - Male. Drawings modified from Voss, (1962, p. 295-296).

    2. Two anal photophores, three abdominal photophores and three contiguous postero-abdominal photophores.
    3. Spherical organ on tip of each arms II and III in males.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Side view of an arm-tip photophore of S. scintillans on arm II. Drawing from Voss (1962, p. 296).

    4. Spherical tail organ, larger in males.
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      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Ventral view of adominal, postero-abdominal and tail photophores of S. scintillans. Photograph by M. Vecchione.

    5. Tentacles with three photophores: base of tentacle, mid-tentacle, base of carpus (Arocha, 2003)
  3. Viscera
    1. Genitalia in males paired.

Comments

More details of the description can be found here.

Life History

The Lycoteuthinae have five ocular photophores on each eye, the middle one of which is different in color and often size. In the paralarva this central photophore, by its larger size, at least, allows easy identification.
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Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

Figure. Ventral view of Selenoteuthis scintillans, paralarva, 3.5 mm ML, and its tentacular club Drawing from Voss (1958, via Voss and Stephen, 1992).

Other Names for Selenoteuthis scintillans Voss, 1958

References

Voss, G. L. 1962. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic. I. The Family Lycoteuthidae. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Carib. 12: 264-305.

Title Illustrations
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Scientific Name Selenoteuthis scintillans
Location Bahamas
Comments collected by submersible
Sex Male
Copyright © 1996 M. Vecchione
Scientific Name Selenoteuthis scintillans, Selenoteuthis scintillans (2)
Reference from Voss, G. L. 1962. A monograph of the Cephalopoda of the North Atlantic. I. The Family Lycoteuthidae. Bull. Mar. Sci. Gulf Carib. 12:264-305. p. 295, 296, with permission
Sex f, m (2)
View ventral, dorsal (2)
Copyright © 1962 Bulletin of Marine Science
About This Page
Drawings by Voss (1962) printed with the Permission of the Bulletin of Marine Science.


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

Page: Tree of Life Selenoteuthis Voss, 1958. Selenoteuthis scintillans Voss, 1958. Moon Squid. Authored by Michael Vecchione. 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.

Citing this page:

Vecchione, Michael. 2016. Selenoteuthis Voss, 1958. Selenoteuthis scintillans Voss, 1958. Moon Squid. Version 16 November 2016. http://tolweb.org/Selenoteuthis_scintillans/19734/2016.11.16 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

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