Lu's Jellyhead
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Octopoda
Family: Grimpoteuthidae
Genus: Luteuthis
Species:
L. dentatus
Binomial name
Luteuthis dentatus
O'Shea, 1999[2]

Luteuthis dentatus, also known as Lu's jellyhead,[3] is a medium-sized species of cirrate octopus found in the southwestern Pacific, originally described by Steve O'Shea.

Description

Luteuthis dentatus reaches a relatively large size with disproportionately long arms. The male holotype specimen from off New Zealand had a total length of 524 mm, while a large female from off Macquarie Island had a total length of 590 mm. However for the latter specimen, this length was following considerable shrinkage in ethanol, with the original length estimated to be 850 mm. The fins are very large with a red or pink tinge.[4][3]

The species was given the name dentatus because it has a radula, a tooth-like structure used for tearing food into pieces. Few other cirrate species possess this feature.[3]

Distribution

Luteuthis dentatus was originally described from material collected in the waters around New Zealand, with two specimens being collected over a depth range of 991–1050 m.[5][6]

The species has more recently been confirmed to also occur off Macquarie Island (Australian Antarctic Territories), with a single large specimen collected at 870–979 m depth.[4]

References

  1. ↑ Lyons, G.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Luteuthis dentatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163361A1001928. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T163361A1001928.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Philippe Bouchet (2018). "Luteuthis dentatus O'Shea, 1999". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 O'Shea, Steve (March 9, 2019). "Deep-sea finned Octopoda of New Zealand". Octopus News Magazine. Archived from the original on September 28, 2020.
  4. 1 2 Verhoeff, Tristan Joseph (2023-07-20). "A new species of Stauroteuthis (Octopoda: Cirrata) and further novel cirrate octopods from Australian waters". Molluscan Research: 1–20. doi:10.1080/13235818.2023.2232534. ISSN 1323-5818. S2CID 260017318.
  5. ↑ O'Shea, Steve (1999). The marine fauna of New Zealand - Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity memoir. Wellington: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. ISBN 978-0-478-08486-3.
  6. ↑ O'Shea, Steve; Lu, Chung Cheng (2002). "A New Species of Luteuthis (Mollusca: Cephalopoda: Octopoda: Cirrata) from the South China Sea". Zoological Studies. 41 (2): 119–126.
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