Note

Chiroteuthid Doratopsis Stage

Richard E. Young and Clyde F. E. Roper

Doratopsis paralarvae possess the following characteristics at some point, at least, in their development:

  1. Elongate, chambered neck.
  2. Chambered brachial pillar.
  3. Gladius extending posteriorly beyond fins and supporting floatation structures or "ornamentation."
  4. Vesicular tissue in posterior region of mantle just anterior to fins.
  5. Vesiculate arms in advanced stages.
    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 portion of arm IV of Planctoteuthis exopthalmica, 9.5 mm ML, showing vesiculate tissue. Drawing from Chun (1910).

  6. Ventral arms greatly elongate in advanced stages.
  7. Tentacular clubs of advanced stages with keels parallel to dorsal protective membranes along most of club length.
    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 a tentacle from an unidentified doratopsis, 28 mm ML. Note the paralarval club with both large suckers and a keel (but without division into manus and dactylus) and also the presumptive adult club of small suckers on the tentacular stalk. Drawing from Roper and Young, 1967.

    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 distal region of a clubs of C. calyx in transition from the paralarval stage showing adult club (right) with terminal paralarval club still intact, damaged mantle estimated at 70 mm ML. Club much more advanced than that in previous drawing. Photograph by R. Young.

Most of these features are seen in these drawings of the doratopsis stage (numbers correspond to character numbers above):

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. Top - Dorsal view of late doratopsis stage of Chiroteuthis veranyi, 35 mm ML. Drawing from Pfeffer, 1912. Bottom - Ventral view of a middle doratopsis stage of Chiroteuthis spoeli, 9.6 mm ML. Drawing from Young, 1991.

References

Chun, C. 1910. Die Cephalopoden. Oegopsida. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee Expedition auf dem Dampfer "Valdivia" 1898-1899, 18(1):1-401.

Pfeffer, G. 1912. Die Cephalopoden der Plankton-Expedition. Ergebniss der Plankton-Expedition der Humboldt-Stiftung. 2: 1-815.

Roper, C. F. E. and R. E. Young (1967). A review of the Valbyteuthidae and an evaluation of its relationship with the Chiroteuthidae. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., 123: 1-9.

Young, R. E. (1991). Chiroteuthid and related paralarvae from Hawaiian waters. Bull. Mar. Sci., 49: 162-185.

About This Page


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C., USA

Page: Tree of Life Chiroteuthid Doratopsis Stage Authored by Richard E. Young and Clyde F. E. Roper. 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.

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