Genus C, new ?

Introduction

This squid is known only from a badly damaged brachial crown. The structure of the tentacular suckers is unusual but bare a resemblance to those of a small (103 mm ML) Batoteuthis scolops with a badly damaged club suckers (see Guerra, et al., 2012); the suckers of larger squid have not been described. The only known specimen was taken from Antarctic waters. We suspect that this damaged specimen belongs to an undescribed chiroteuthid or closely related squid judging from the appearance of the outer horny ring of the club sucker.

Characteristics

1. Suckers
   1. Club suckers with ca. 8 slender, well separated teeth over distal half of ring merging into tiny teeth on proxomal margin; no enlarged central tooth.
   2. Club sucker stalks appear to be uneven in length.
   3. Club suckers appear to be in four series.
   4. Arm suckers not globular, with ca. 14 pointed teeth on the distal 2/3 of the inner ring merging into very small, irregular teeth on the proximal margin.

   Scanning electron micrographs of the suckers can be seen here

Comments

The arm crown was badly stripped. The dentition of the arm sucker shown here does not match the dentition of the holotype (8-10 distal teeth, smooth proximal margins) of Batoteuthis scolops, which, however, appears to be much smaller (51 mm ML).

Braid (2016) noted similarities between the club suckers of the above genus C and Asperoteuthis lui and since the former lies within the distributional range of the latter, she suggests that it is possible the two are conspecific. While the club suckers of genus C and A. lui are similar, the arms suckers of genus C have low, irregular teeth on the proximal margin of sucker ring; this region in A. lui is bare. Perhaps genus C is a variant of A. lui or another species of Asperoteuthis or Batoteuthis scolops which remains poorly known in spite of its description nearly 50 years ago.

Distribution

References

Braid, H.E. 2016. Resolving the taxonomic status of Asperoteuthis lui Salcedo-Vargas, 1999 (Cephalopoda, Chiroteuthidae) using integrative taxonomy. Mar. Biodiv. DOI 10.1007/s12526-016-0547-5

Ángel Guerra, Julio M. Portela, Álvaro Roura, José Luis del Río, and Michael Vecchione. 2012. Morphological variability of the rare bush-club squid Batoteuthis (Cephalopoda, Batoteuthidae)?. N. Jb. Geol. Paläont. Abh. 266/1, 77–83.

Young, R. E. and C. F. E. Roper. 1968. The Batoteuthidae, a new family of squid (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida) from antarctic waters. Antarctic Res. Ser. 2: 185-202.