how to identify a squid from its tentacle

cayucos

Cuttlefish
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Need help please. In a story I'm writing, someone comes across a squid tentacle. The person needs to identify it as a Humboldt, as opposed to market squid. Would both kinds of squid have hooks, or teeth, on the suckers? Is there an identifiable difference?

Thanks!
 
:welcome:

Nesis says Humboldts ( Dosidicus gigas ) have "No suckers with denticulate rings in carpal part of club proximal to first knob." In regions where humboldts live, the market squid would be Loligo opelescens... there's no specific reference to clubs in Nesis at a glance, but it sounds like in general the Loligo species have distinctive sucker rings.

Probably Steve or Kat can help more... but maybe this is a start...
 
Hey thanks. That's exactly the kind of specific info I'm in need of. Would also love to find photos of both tentacles, so I can describe what they look like. Off to google, and I'll keep an eye on this thread should more experts chime in.

Appreciate the help and warm welcome.
 
Nesis is a book, Cephalopods of the World by Kir Nesis.
 
The sucker ring dentition is used to id squid from just an arm or bit of an arm, usually you would need a good set of voucher specimens ie rings of known species from a known position on a known arm (they can vary arm to arm and sucker to sucker) see picture 1 (tolweb) for a sucker ring from Nototodarus hawaiiensis and picture 2 (fromunderwater times.com) for one from Dosidicus gigas, the Humbolt.
 

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.... and both are ommastrephids (family Ommastrephidae), and neither has hooks. The differences in the club morphology and sucker-ring dentition are rather slight
 
Many thanks to Jean and Steve, as well.

I thought I'd educated myself pretty well, via google, on squids and suckers but I see now I've found the mother lode of online cephalopod education.
 
Steve O'Shea;155391 said:
.... and both are ommastrephids (family Ommastrephidae), and neither has hooks. The differences in the club morphology and sucker-ring dentition are rather slight

True, but the teeth on the narrower section of the ring in N. hawaiiensis are quite rectangular (yes I know my sucker ring terminology isn't up to scratch!), whereas the ones on the D. gigas ring are quite triangular and all are more pointed. Course it doesn't say which arms the pics are from!
 
Rectangular teeth versus triangular is a great easily recognized difference for my story character, who is vaguely familiar with the market squid in his fishing town, but no expert.

Thanks.
 
cayucos;155473 said:
Rectangular teeth versus triangular is a great easily recognized difference for my story character, who is vaguely familiar with the market squid in his fishing town, but no expert.

Thanks.

You're welcome BUT one proviso I have no idea what the sucker rings on Loligo opalescens look like they could be different again, Can you get a hold of a market squid and have a look?
 
One possibly minor hiccup here - 'tentacle' and 'arm' are not the same. So if your character finds a tentacle (one of the two longer appendages with suckers mostly clustered at the tip), the triangular/square teeth discussed above on the arm suckers will not apply. But if the character finds a piece of arm, you're all right. :wink:
 
Jean: good point. I'll have the chance this summer to check out market squid at the place where my book is based. And then I can describe it in just the way that a non-expert would see it.

Cuttlegirl: thanks for the link. I'll go look...

Tintenfisch: oooh, whoops. So, say, the triangular teeth on the Humboldt are ONLY on the arm suckers? Different teeth on the tentacle suckers? Well, my character will not know the diff between an arm and a tentacle (as I'm just learning :smile:. But I'd best know.

Thanks all.
 

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