Under Construction

Ornithoteuthis Okada 1927

Bird squid

Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
taxon links [up-->]Ornithoteuthis antillarum [up-->]Ornithoteuthis volatilis [down<--]Ommastrephinae Interpreting the tree
close box

This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

close box
Containing group: Ommastrephinae

Introduction

These are relatively small (about 100-200 mm ML) and highly agile ommastrephids that do not seem to be common anywhere. Their taxonomic characteristics are very different from other members of the subfamily.

Brief diagnosis:

An ommastrephin ...

Characteristics

  1. Tentacles
    1. Arms tips in subadults not unusually attenuate; arms I with 25-30 pairs of suckers (Wormuth, 1976).
    2. Carpal locking-apparatus absent from tentacles (unique in subfamily).
    3. Largest club suckers with ca. 20 uniform, broadly spaced, small teeth (unique in subfamily).
    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Oral view of the inner sucker ring of a large club sucker from Ornithoteuthis volitalis. Drawing from Roeleveld (1988).

  2. Funnel
    1. Mantle component of the funnel/mantle locking-apparatus without anterior bifurcation.
    2. Funnel groove with foveola, with or without side pockets.

  3. Mantle
    1. Mantle slender, drawn out into narrow tail (unique in subfamily).

  4. Fins
    1. Fins narrowly drawn out along tail.

  5. Photophores
    1. Small subcutaneous photophores absent. Absence of large or small subcutaneous unique in subfamily).
    2. Luminous patch present on ventral surface of each eye.
    3. Visceral photophores present: two intestinal photophores and an elongate luminous stripe along midline on viscera (unique in family).
    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
    Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

    Figure. Photophores of Ornithoteuthis antillarum. Left - Ventral view of the mantle cavity of showing the visceral photophores. Left arrow points to an elongate luminous strip. Right two arrows point to intestinal photophores. Note that the anterior visceral photophore appears to have a different structure than the posterior one. Right - Ventral view of the head of the same squid showing the ocular photophore on the right eye. Photographs by M. Vecchione.

Comments

Comparison of species (Dunning, 1998):

  Sexual dimorphism, arm sucker dentition  Hectocotylus: number of longitudinal series of depressions  Hectocotylus: number of depressions per transverse row 
Distribution 
O. volatilis  No  2-3
10-15
IndoPacific, eastern tropical Atlantic
O. antillarum  Yes  4-5
20-25
Western tropical Atlantic 
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window



Figure. Ventrolateral and oral views of the hectocotylus of Ornithoteuthis spp. Top - O. volatilis. Drawing from Roeleveld (1988). Bottom - O. antillarum. Drawing from Voss (1957). Unfortunately the specific differences in hectocotylus structure are not well illustrated by these figures.

Distribution

Circumglobal, but irregular, distribution in tropical and subtropical waters.

References

Dunning, M. C. 1998. A Review of the systematics, distribution, and biology of the arrow squid genera Ommastrephes Orbigny, 1835, Sthenoteuthis Verrill, 1880, and Ornithoteuthis Okada, 1927 (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae). Smiths. Contr. Zool., No. 586: 425-433.

Roeleveld, M. A. 1988. Generic interrelationships within the Ommastrephidae (Cephalopoda). P.277-314. In: M. R. Clarke and E. R. Trueman (eds.). The Mollusca. Vol. 12. Paleontology and Neontology of Cephalopods. Academic Press, N.Y., 355pp.

Sasaki, M. 1929. A Monograph of the Dibranchiate Cephalopods of the Japanese and Adjacent Waters. Journal of the College of Agriculture, Hokkaido Imperial University, 20(supplement):357 pages.

Voss, G.L. 1957. Observations on Ornithoteuthis antillarum adam, 1957. An ommastrephid ssquid from the West Indies. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 7(4):370-378.

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Ornithoteuthis volitalis
Specimen Condition Fresh
View Dorsal
Copyright ©
About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA

Page: Tree of Life Ornithoteuthis Okada 1927. Bird squid. Authored by Richard E. Young and Michael Vecchione. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Young, Richard E. and Michael Vecchione. 2009. Ornithoteuthis Okada 1927. Bird squid. Version 29 November 2009 (under construction). http://tolweb.org/Ornithoteuthis/19942/2009.11.29 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Ornithoteuthis

Page Content

articles & notes

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top