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Orangeback Flying Squid

Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup 1855)

Comprehensive Description

provided by Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup, 1855)

Ommatostrephes pteropus Steenstrup, 1855:200.

Ommastrephes pteropus.—Tryon, 1879:179.

Architeuthis megaptera Verrill, 1878:207.

Sthenoteuthis megaptera.—Verrill, 1880:223.

Sthenoteuthis pteropus.—Pfeffer, 1900:181.

DIAGNOSIS.—Sthenoteuthis with large, oval dorsal light organ present anteriormost on mantle in adults; mantle and funnel cartilages only rarely fused; 11–13 pairs of suckers on hectocotylized arm.

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION.—Steenstrup, 1855:200.

TYPES.—Holotype: Zoological Museum, University of Copenhagen, female, 350 mm ML, St. Croix Island, Caribbean Sea.

Paratypes: None nominated.

DISTRIBUTION.—Sthenoteuthis pteropus is a pelagic species that occurs throughout tropical and warm temperate surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean from 35°N to 30°S where surface water temperatures exceed 16°C (Zuev et al., 1976; Zuev et al., 1985; Warneke-Cremer, 1986). This species is absent in the Mediterranean Sea. Within its range, localized areas of higher abundance have been delineated in association with particular oceanographic characteristics (eddies and frontal zones) (Zuev et al., 1985; Arkhipkin et al., 1988).

Zuev and Tsymbal (1982) concluded that adult S. pteropus were distributed in the upper isothermal zone and underlying thermocline and did not generally occur below 150–200 m in depth. Although adults were concentrated in surface waters at night, larvae and juveniles were distributed widely in waters above the thermocline. This species undergoes diel vertical migration, with the adults feeding on pelagic fishes in deeper water by day and at the surface at night, and with the juveniles feeding on crustaceans in the scattering layer at the surface by day and deeper at night.

SIZE, MATURITY, AND REPRODUCTION.—The reproductive condition of S. pteropus from the western Gulf of Mexico was described by Hixon et al. (1981). Males, which constituted 63.9% of the samples, reached maturity at smaller sizes than did females. Spermatophores were evident in squid as small as 142 mm ML, whereas the smallest female with mature ova present in its oviducts was 210 mm ML. It was noted, however, that size at maturity varied considerably among both males and females.

Hixon et al. (1981) concluded that year-round spawning occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. The presence of oocytes of various diameters in the ovary of mature females also provided some evidence of multiple spawning in this species as suggested by Harman et al. (1989) for S. oualaniensis around Hawaii.

GROWTH.—Sequential size-frequency data for S. pteropus from the east-central Atlantic were examined by Zuev et al. (1979). They described growth in these squid by the equation Lt= 60 (1–e-0.091(1 + 0.13))) where Lt is mantle length in cm and t is age in months. On this basis, it was concluded that the life span of this species is from 1 to 1.5 years.

LARVAE.—Nesis (1979b) described and illustrated the larvae of S. pteropus. Like larvae of S. oualaniensis, they are characterized by a long proboscis (at least equal to and up to 3 times the length of the longest arms), eight approximately equal-sized suckers on the proboscis tip, small, spherical light organs on the ventral surface of each eye, and two equal-sized photophores posteriorly and anteriorly on the intestine (the rectal photophore first visible in specimens of 3–3.5 mm ML and the intestinal photophore visible at about 5–5.5 mm ML).

Ornithoteuthis Okada, 1927

DIAGNOSIS.—Mantle narrow, drawn out into long, pointed tail; fins long, sagittate; funnel groove smooth, with foveola and side pockets (often obscure); tetraserial suckers on dactylus of tentacular club; tentacular club moderately expanded but without carpal-fixing apparatus; photophores evident on eyes and on intestine in larvae and as photogenic strip along viscera in adults; right arm IV hectocotylized in mature males.

TYPE SPECIES.—Ommastrephes volatilis Sasaki, 1915.

GENUS SIZE.—Two species have been recognized, O. volatilis (Sasaki, 1915), from the Indo-West Pacific, and O. antillarum Adam, 1957, from the Atlantic Ocean.
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bibliographic citation
Voss, N. A. and Sweeney, M. J. 1998. "Systematics and Biogeography of cephalopods. Volume II." Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology. 277-599. https://doi.org/10.5479/si.00810282.586.277

Sthenoteuthis pteropus

provided by wikipedia EN

Sthenoteuthis pteropus, also known as the orangeback flying squid or orangeback squid, is a species of cephalopod in the family Ommastrephidae. It is native to tropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean where it is found to depths of about 200 m (656 ft).

Description

Like other squid, Sthenoteuthis pteropus is bilaterally symmetrical and has a head with a pair of eyes, eight arms and two tentacles and a fleshy, muscular body known as the mantle.[3] The head is not retractable, the arms have blunt tips and there is a marked crest on the outer surface of the third pair. The tentacles are slender and the terminal sections are armed with a transverse row of large toothed suckers and other smaller suckers for capturing prey, and the column with a fixing apparatus of knobs and small suckers. The mantle is cylindrical, narrowing slightly towards the posterior end where there is a wide, roughly diamond-shaped fin. There are a number of bioluminescent photophores on the head, mantle and fourth arms, with a concentrated patch on the anterior dorsal surface of the mantle forming a luminous orange oval shape. Sthenoteuthis pteropus grows to a mantle length of about 65 cm (26 in) with a fin width about three quarters of this.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Sthenoteuthis pteropus is native to the tropical Atlantic Ocean with a range between about 35°N and 36°S and a rather more restricted breeding range that extends to about 22° on either side of the equator. It is a common epipelagic species and is found in the upper surface layers of the sea to a depth of 200 m (656 ft).[4]

Biology

The beak of Sthenoteuthis pteropus

Squid can move fast through the water by jet propulsion, expelling a jet of water through a flexible siphon located on the ventral surface just behind the head. Some species can even launch themselves out of the water and move rapidly through air, remaining airborne for several metres. The phenomenon has been little studied because it happens so rarely and so unexpectedly, but it has been photographed on a small number of occasions, and Sthenoteuthis pteropus has sometimes tentatively been identified. The squid seems to be engaging in an active flying process rather than a passive glide as the fin is spread widely and the arms are held in such a position as might help provide lift.[5][6] The squid were found to travel five times as fast in air as in water and it is thought that the behaviour may occur during long distance migrations in order to conserve energy.[7]

Female Sthenoteuthis pteropus mature in two different size ranges, at mantle lengths of 23 to 27 cm (9 to 11 in) and 38 to 45 cm (15 to 18 in). In mature individuals, spawning takes place intermittently, up to a million ripe eggs with a diameter of about 0.8 mm (0.03 in) being present in the ovaries at any one time as well as a large number of immature oocytes. This seems consistent with a reproductive strategy consisting of producing large numbers of very small eggs, a long period of sporadic spawning and a continuation of feeding and growth by the female while breeding.[8]

This is a fast-growing species of squid. Juveniles reach a length of about 10 cm (4 in) in one hundred days. The life expectancy of females is under a year while males live for one or two months less than this.[9]

References

  1. ^ Barratt, I. & Allcock, L. (2014). "Sthenoteuthis pteropus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163198A982476. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T163198A982476.en. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  2. ^ a b Julian Finn (2016). "Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstrup, 1855)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  3. ^ Norman, Mark (2000). Cephalopods: A World Guide. ConchBooks. p. 15. ISBN 978-3925919329.
  4. ^ a b Boltovskoy, D. (ed.). "Sthenoteuthis pteropus". Zooplankton of the South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2014-03-13. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  5. ^ Jabr, Ferris (2010-08-02). "Fact or Fiction: Can a Squid Fly out of Water?". Scientific American. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  6. ^ Rice, Anthony L. (2011). Can squid fly? Answers to a Host of Fascinating Questions about the Sea and Sea Life. A C Black. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9781408133200.
  7. ^ Yan, Chippy (2012-02-26). "Migrating Squid May Fly to Conserve Energy". NTD.TV. Retrieved 2014-03-13.
  8. ^ Laptikhovsky, Vladimir V.; Nigmatullin, Chingis M. (2005). "Aspects of female reproductive biology of the orange-back squid, Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Steenstup) (Oegopsina: Ommastrephidae) in the eastern tropical Atlantic". Scientia Marina. 69 (3): 383–390. doi:10.3989/scimar.2005.69n3383.
  9. ^ Arkhipkin, Alexander; Mikheev, Alexander (1992). "Age and growth of the squid Sthenoteuthis pteropus (Oegopsida: Ommastrephidae) from the Central-East Atlantic". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 163 (2): 261–276. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(92)90054-E.
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Sthenoteuthis pteropus: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Sthenoteuthis pteropus, also known as the orangeback flying squid or orangeback squid, is a species of cephalopod in the family Ommastrephidae. It is native to tropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean where it is found to depths of about 200 m (656 ft).

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Wikipedia authors and editors
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Habitat

provided by World Register of Marine Species
epi-mesopelagic

Reference

van der Land, J. (ed). (2008). UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms (URMO).

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