Grimpoteuthis innominata
Steve O'Shea, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione
Introduction
Grimpoteuthis innominata is known from two specimens and is distinguished from its closest relatives among species of Grimpoteuthis primarily by the shape of its shell.
Characteristics
- Shell
- U-shaped with basal shelf weakly developed.
- Saddle with shallow median ridge on outer surface, convex inner surface.
- Wings lobelike (i.e., expanded).
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Figure. Shell of G. innominata, female, paratype. A - Dorsal (?) view of shell. B - Lateral view of wing. Photographs from O'Shea, 1999.
Comments
More details of the description of G. innominata can be found here.Grimpoteuthis innominata differs from other Pacific species, where known, in: (1) The presence of a median ridge on the external surface of the shell saddle, (2) the presence of a weak basal shelf on the shell saddle, (3) lobelike wings, and (4) possibly, a more slender gill (semi-sepioid vs half-orange). It also differs from:
- G. abyssicola in having the above shell features and a shell with shoulder blades and expanded wings, fewer suckers (50-60 vs 77; web nodule at sucker 22-24 vs 32-34), shorter cirri (1x vs 2.5x), 7 vs 8 gill lamellae .
- G. bathynectes in having the above shell features, no salivary glands and a shell with shoulder blades.
- G. hippocrepium in having the above shell features and a shell with shoulder blades and expanded wings.
- G. meangensis in having the above shell features and fewer suckers (50-60 vs 60-70).
- G. pacifica in having shorter cirri (1x vs 2x).
- G. tuftsi in having the above shell features and no transverse groove on the external surface of the shell saddle, fewer suckers (50-60 vs 63-75), and shorter cirri (1x vs 1.5-3.5x).
Nomenclature
O'Shea (1999) created the genus Enigmatiteuthis for this species. Collins (in press), in his review of North Atlantic species of Grimpoteuthis, placed Enigmatiteuthis as a junior synonym of Grimpoteuthis.
Distribution
Type locality: 42° 36.79'S, 176° 09.81'W, 2000 m, just east of New Zealand. The paratype came from the same trawl.
References
Collins, M. A. In press. The genus Grimpoteuthis (Octopoda: Grimpoteuthidae) in the North-east Atlantic, with descriptions of three new species.
O’Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.
Voss, G. L. and W. G. Pearcy. 1990. Deep-water octopods (Mollusca: Cephalopoda) of the Northeastern Pacific. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 47: 47-94.
Title Illustrations
| Scientific Name | Grimpoteuthis innominata |
|---|---|
| Location | N.E. Chatham Rise off New Zealand, at 42°59'S, 179°45'E |
| Comments | The female carried one very large egg. |
| Specimen Condition | Fresh |
| Identified By | Steve O'Shea |
| Sex | Female |
| Life Cycle Stage | Mature |
| View | Dorsal, ventral |
| Size | 68 mm HW, 73 mm ML |
| Collector | National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA) |
| Image Use |
 This media file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License - Version 3.0.
|
| Copyright | © |
About This Page
Steve O'Shea
Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA
National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA
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All Rights Reserved.
- First online 13 May 2003
Citing this page:
O'Shea, Steve, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione. 2003. Grimpoteuthis innominata . Version 13 May 2003 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Grimpoteuthis_innominata/20123/2003.05.13 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/
