G. antarcticus Description

Gonatus antarcticus: Description continued

Tsunemi Kubodera

Arms
1. Median and marginal arm IV suckers nearly same size and about 1.5 times larger than marginal suckers of other arms.
2. Large marginal suckers of arms I-III each with 6-9 pointed teeth on distal margins of inner rings, proximal margins smooth; marginal and medial suckers of arms IV with 7-8 pointed teeth.
Tentacles
1. Ventral marginal zone of manus with 14-15 trabeculae each with 3-4 suckers.
2. Ventral marginal zone suckers with 7 blunt teeth; dorsal marginal zone suckers with 6-7 blunt teeth.
3. Carpus with 5-6 large, smooth-ringed suckers set alternately on thick ridges with fleshy knobs.
Mantle
1. Mantle slender, moderately thick and muscular.
Fins and tail
1. Fins sagittate with roundish sides; length ca. half ML; posterior margins slightly concave. Long, gelatinous tail present from posterior end of gladius to tip of fins.
Pigmentation
1. Epidermis densely spotted with purplish chromatophores.
Measurements and counts

Character/Station no.		NSMT Mo-63957 47°S, 60°W	USNM 40°S, 35°W	Z00l.Mus. Copen. Locality ?
Sex		--	--	Female
Mantle length		230	235	218
Tail length		50	52	54
Mantle width		40	42	44
Fin Length		114	103	101
Fin width		95	84	89
Head length		28	35	33
Head width		32	28	35
Eye diameter		22	-	24
Nuchal cartilage length		23	-	22
Nuchal cartilage width		7	-	8.5
Funnel cartilage length		22	-	21
Funnel cartilage width		5.8	-	7.0
Arm length, right	I	90	103	74*
	II	92	110	110
	III	70**	113	105
	IV	104	104	108
Arm length, left	I	88	-	91
	II	91	-	115
	III	91	-	114
	IV	102	-	110
1/2 Arm, right armature count*	I	20s/1s+17h	22s/19h	-
	II	22s/1s+19h	24s/2s+21h	-
	III	18s/13h**	22s/2s+20h	-
	IV	44s	50s	-
1/2 Arm, left armature count*	I	18s/1s+17h	-	21s/2s+20h
	II	24s/1s+20h	-	22s/2s+20h
	III	22s/1s+21h	-	21s/2s+21h
	IV	46s	-	50s
Tentacle length	right	240	280	150
	left	238	-	145
Club length	right	35	33	35
	left	34	-	34.8
Club sucker count		250-280	285-315	-
Club median zone order***		HHhhhs	HHhhss	HHhhhh

*Armature in proximal half of arm: marginal suckers/median suckers + hooks.
**Regenerated arm.
***Order of hooks and suckers in club median zone. H - distal large hook; H - central large hook; h - proximal small hook; s - proximal small sucker.

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National Science Museum, Tokyo, Japan

Correspondence regarding this page should be directed to Tsunemi Kubodera at

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