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- Apr 6, 2003
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More sucker-marks?
I question the idea because the rings are aligned so closely with the color demarcation between dorsal and ventral areas of the sword's skin. I don't know if rings like those are a "natural" pattern of markings. If they are squid scars, they would indicate a squid that has a single row of suckers down the lengths of the arms, and that the sword had struck the squid so that one of its arms stretched down the length of the sword's body and gripped it. The slightly irregular spacing of the rings might indicate suckers on short stalks, and there do appear to be a few points on the ring interiors. There could be faint rings below the sharp row, visible on the left end of the pattern (first photo), suggesting that the squid had biserial suckers that found traction with but one row. Compared with the first sample, these rings are a bit smaller in diameter.
The first swordfish sample was much more clear-cut a squid pattern, since the rings were biserial, ran vertically, showed clear tooth points, and were located closer to the mouth of the fish. So, I think the marks on the new sample are sucker rings, but I'm not fully confident of that.
The photos were adjusted in brightness, contrast, and midtone settings to bring out detail.
Clem
I question the idea because the rings are aligned so closely with the color demarcation between dorsal and ventral areas of the sword's skin. I don't know if rings like those are a "natural" pattern of markings. If they are squid scars, they would indicate a squid that has a single row of suckers down the lengths of the arms, and that the sword had struck the squid so that one of its arms stretched down the length of the sword's body and gripped it. The slightly irregular spacing of the rings might indicate suckers on short stalks, and there do appear to be a few points on the ring interiors. There could be faint rings below the sharp row, visible on the left end of the pattern (first photo), suggesting that the squid had biserial suckers that found traction with but one row. Compared with the first sample, these rings are a bit smaller in diameter.
The first swordfish sample was much more clear-cut a squid pattern, since the rings were biserial, ran vertically, showed clear tooth points, and were located closer to the mouth of the fish. So, I think the marks on the new sample are sucker rings, but I'm not fully confident of that.
The photos were adjusted in brightness, contrast, and midtone settings to bring out detail.
Clem