Under Construction

Grimpoteuthis innominata (O'Shea, 1999)

Steve O'Shea, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione
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
Containing group: Grimpoteuthis

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

  1. Shell
    1. U-shaped with basal shelf weakly developed.
    2. Saddle with shallow median ridge on outer surface, convex inner surface.
    3. Wings lobelike (i.e., expanded).
    4. 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. 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:

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
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
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 creative commons 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

All Rights Reserved.

Citing this page:

O'Shea, Steve, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione. 2003. Grimpoteuthis innominata (O'Shea, 1999). 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/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Leaf Page.

Each ToL leaf page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a leaf at the tip of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a leaf and a branch of the Tree of Life is that a leaf cannot generally be further subdivided into subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

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

Grimpoteuthis innominata

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top