Planctoteuthis

GPO87

Sepia elegans
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Jan 6, 2005
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Dancing between Vancouver and Auckland
These are small squid (about 4-6 cm mantle length from what I can tell) that can live below 1000 meters. They have really cool "tails" but I am not yet sure if this is a larval feature that goes away with maturation. They are known to maintain larval tentacle clubs into adulthood.

1693422706649.png

P. danae - photo from mbari.org

More info here
 
Ya, that was the most remarkable thing I've seen this year, FWIW. I wonder if we could get any expert takes on this -- @Steve O'Shea, @Tintenfisch, @GPO87, @Heather Braid, et. al!

I cannot contribute anything to this, other than to say I am equally blown away. I have never seen anything like this. That they're bilaterally symmetrical on the head suggests they're not spermatophores (and the 'tailed' form of Planctoteuthis is, I have always believed, juvenile, so the likelihood of them (and the tail) having a reproductive function is remote).

Here's a link that suggests the tail is used in predator avoidance, in that it is similar to a stinging jelly. It sounds entirely plausible, and better than anything that I can come up with.


I guess a few folk will be searching their collections for Planctoteuthis specimens now to look for pores or papillae (or some other structure) on or around the head. Remarkable stuff! Thanks for the tag :smile:
 

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