Ommastrephinae

Ommastrephinae
A Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) that washed up on a Santa Barbara shoreline
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Cohort:	Neocoleoidea
Superorder:	Decapodiformes
Order:	Teuthida
Suborder:	Oegopsina
Family:	Ommastrephidae
Subfamily:	Ommastrephinae Posselt, 1891[1]
Genera
Dosidicus Steenstrup, 1857 Eucleoteuthis Berry, 1916 Hyaloteuthis Gray, 1849 Ommastrephes D'Orbigny, 1834 in 1834–1847 Ornithoteuthis Okada, 1927 Sthenoteuthis Verrill, 1880 in 1879–1880

Ommastrephinae is a subfamily of squids under the family Ommastrephidae.

Description

Ommastrephinae includes the largest species of squids belonging to the family Ommastrephidae, Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) which can grow to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in mantle length (ML).^[2] It also contains the smallest squid species belonging to the family, the glass squid (Hyaloteuthis pelagica) which has a mantle length of only up to 9 cm (3.5 in).^[3] Ommastrephinae are mostly pelagic members of the family Ommastrephidae. All species of this subfamily contain photophores whose locations vary by species. Some species of the subfamily (notably Sthenoteuthis and Ommastrephes) are known for their behavior of leaping out of the water (hence the common names 'flying squid').^[4]

Taxonomy

The name of the subfamily, like the family itself and one if its member genera, Ommastrephes, comes from Greek ὄμμα ('eye') and -strephes ('rolling').^[5] They were first described by H.J. Posselt in 1981.

List of genera

Eight species of squids are recognized under Ommastrephinae, divided among six genera. They are the following:

• Genus Dosidicus
  • Dosidicus gigas, Humboldt squid, jumbo flying squid or jumbo squid
• Genus Eucleoteuthis
  • Eucleoteuthis luminosa, striped squid or luminous flying squid
• Genus Hyaloteuthis
  • Hyaloteuthis pelagica, glass squid or glassy flying squid
• Genus Ommastrephes
  • Ommastrephes bartramii, neon flying squid or red flying squid
• Genus Ornithoteuthis
  • Ornithoteuthis antillarum, Atlantic bird squid
  • Ornithoteuthis volatilis, shiny bird squid
• Genus Sthenoteuthis
  • Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis, purpleback squid or purpleback flying squid
  • Sthenoteuthis pteropus, orangeback squid or orangeback flying squid

References

1. "Ommastrephinae Posselt, 1891: Taxonomic Serial No.: 555745". Integrated Taxonomic Information System, http://www.itis.gov/. January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011. External link in |publisher= (help)
2. Glaubrecht, M. & M.A. Salcedo-Vargas 2004. The Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas (Orbigny, 1835): History of the Berlin specimen, with a reappraisal of other (bathy-)pelagic gigantic cephalopods (Mollusca, Ommastrephidae, Architeuthidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 80(1): 53–69.
3. Nesis, K. N. 1982. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385,ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp.
4. Ferris Jabr (August 2, 2010). "Fact or Fiction: Can a Squid Fly Out of the Water?". Scientific American, http://www.scientificamerican.com/. Retrieved January 24, 2011. External link in |publisher= (help)
5. Nixon, Marion; Young, John Zachary (2003). The brains and lives of cephalopods. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852761-6.

External links

• Ommastrephinae at the Tree of Life web project.