Note

Commparison of Pyroteuthid Paralarvae

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione

We compare just three species; paralarvae of other species in the family are unknown or inadequately known.

The distinctive features of Pyroteuthis addolux are:

  1. Relatively small branchial photophores (smaller than anal photophores); absent at < 4mm ML;
  2. A series of chromatophores on distal portion of tentacle (see arrow in drawing). Unfortunately these are easily lost due to damage during capture.
  3. Large ocular photophores.
  4. Few chromatophores on mantle.

The distinctive features of Pterygioteuthis giardi are:

  1. Large branchial photophores (equal to or larger than anal photophores); absent at < 1.5 mm ML.
  2. Absence of chromatophores on distal portion of tentacle.
  3. Large ocular photophores.
  4. Few chromatophores on mantle.
  5. Relatively thicker tentacle base and more slender distal tentacle.

The distinctive features of Pterygioteuthis microlampas are:

  1. Large branchial photophores (equal to or larger than anal photophores); absent at < 1.5 mm ML.
  2. Single, large, dark chromatophore on distal portion of tentacle (i.e., at base of club, see arrow).
  3. Small ocular photophores.
  4. Numerous chromatophores on the mantle.
  5. Pair of chromatophores on the ventral surface of the funnel (see arrow; present only in advanced paralarvae; colored grey in the illustration to indicate its location beneath the mantle).
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. Left - Pyroteuthis addolux. Middle - Pterygioteuthis giardi. Right - Pterygioteuthis microlampas. All paralarvae illustrated are 2.9 mm ML.  Arrows indicate location of some of the chromatophores whose presence is diagonostic at the species or generic level. Drawings modified from Young et al., 1992.

 

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


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

Page: Tree of Life Commparison of Pyroteuthid Paralarvae Authored by Richard E. Young and 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.

close box

This page is a note that is attached to a branch of the Tree of Life.

ToL notes provide brief accounts of characteristics, short summaries, commentaries, media files, taxonomic information, or identification tools for a given group of organisms.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Pyroteuthidae

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top