Octopoteuthis deletron
| Octopoteuthis deletron | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Subclass: | Coleoidea |
| Order: | Teuthida |
| Suborder: | Oegopsina |
| Family: | Octopoteuthidae |
| Genus: | Octopoteuthis |
| Species: | O. deletron |
| Binomial name | |
| Octopoteuthis deletron Young, 1972 | |
Octopoteuthis deletron is a species of squid in the genus Octopoteuthis of the family Octopoteuthidae. They belong to the pelagic squids of suborder Oegopsina. Found at depths of 400 to 800 m (1,300 to 2,600 ft) in the Pacific Ocean, they have been known to grow to 24 cm (9.4 in).
O. deletron has been found to break off its arms as a defense strategy. The squid digs hooks in one of its arms into a predator and jets away, leaving the arm in the predator's skin.[1]
The male O. deletron has a penis, which is unusual among squids. Males find it difficult to detect the sex of other individuals they encounter in the dark depths, so they have adopted a strategy of attaching sperm packets to all individuals they meet.[2]
O. deletron are the most common species found in the stomachs of northern elephant seals sampled off the coast of California.[3] It is an important prey item of the giant grenadier.[4] It is also eaten by the enigmatic Perrin's beaked whale (Mesoplodon perrini).[1]
References
- 1 2 Stromberg, Michael. "This Deep-Sea Squid Breaks Off Its Own Arms to Confuse Predators". Smithsonian.com. With video. Retrieved August 4, 2012.
- ↑ Gorman, James (21 September 2011), "Amorous Squid Seeks Partner: Any Sex Will Do", The New York Times (New York), p. A1
- ↑ Le Beouf, Burney J.; Richard M. Laws (1994). Elephant Seals: Population ecology, behavior, and physiology. University of California Press. pp. 213–214. ISBN 978-0-520-08364-6.
- ↑ Drazen, Jeffrey C; Buckley, Troy W; Hoff, Gerald R (2001). "The feeding habits of slope dwelling macrourid fishes in the eastern North Pacific". Deep-Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers 48 (3): 909–935. doi:10.1016/S0967-0637(00)00058-3.