Antarctic Neosquid

“Alluroteuthis antarcticus Odhner, 1923

OTHER SCIENTIFIC NAMES STILL IN USE:

Parateuthis tunicata Thiele, 1921

? Crystalloteuthis glacialis Clarke, 1980

VERNACULAR NAMES:

FAO/CCAMLR:

En - Antarctic neosquid

Fr - Louténe australe

Ru - Antarkticheskyi myagkotelyi kalmar

Sp - Neoluria antártica

NATIONAL:

DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER:

Mantle conical. Fins oval, anterior lobes absent, posterior lobes free. Head and eyes large; buccal connectives attach to dorsal bor­ders of arms IV. Funnel-locking cartilage straight, simple. No photophores. Tentacles relatively thin; clubs with 6 to 8 enlarged suckers on median rows of manus, many rows of very small, extremely numerous suckers on carpus, with a few pairs of suckers/knobs extending proximally along the stalk; arms robust; suckers on arms biserial, those on arm IV reduced in size.

Lower beak: has hood with a broad notch and lies close to crest; thickened wing fold with ridge has characteristic shape in profile and obscures jaw angle from side; jaw angle acute or recessed; crest broad and thic­kened; no fold or ridge on lateral wall.

DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERS OF SIMILAR SPECIES OCCURRING IN THE AREA:

Several families (Histioteuthidae, Bathyteuthidae and Psychroteithidae) have similar general characters, but can be differentiated as follows:

Histioteuthis species (Histioteuthidae): photophores present on mantle.

Bathyteuthis abyssicola (Bathyteuthidae): photophores present at bases of arms.

Psychroteuthis glacialis (Psychroteuthidae): posterior fin attachment concave.

SIZE:

Maximum reported mantle length 11 cm.

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTIRBUTION AND BEHAVIOR:

All sectors of the Antarctic Ocean; circumpolar.

An oceanic species, occurring in depths between 750 and 2800 m. A prey of sperm whales, elephant and Weddell seals. The annual consumption of this species by sperm whales in the Antarctic is estimated to be about 0.01 × 10⁶ t.

INTEREST TO FISHERIES:

Currently none.”

(Roper et al, 1985: 169-170)