Asperoteuthis acanthoderma
| Asperoteuthis acanthoderma | |
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| A specimen of A. acanthoderma found floating at the surface off Little Cayman in May 2008. The squid measured over 7 feet (2.1 m) in length. | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Subclass: | Coleoidea |
| Order: | Teuthida |
| Suborder: | Oegopsina |
| Family: | Chiroteuthidae |
| Genus: | Asperoteuthis |
| Species: | A. acanthoderma |
| Binomial name | |
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Asperoteuthis acanthoderma (Lu, 1977) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Asperoteuthis acanthoderma is a large species of squid belonging to the family Chiroteuthidae. It is characterised by the tiny, pointed tubercules present on its skin and a Y-shaped groove in the funnel locking apparatus.
The largest recorded specimen measured 78 cm (2.56 ft) in mantle length (ML), although its original total length is unknown as it was missing the very delicate feeding tentacles. A smaller specimen, 45 cm (1.48 ft) ML, had tentacles 12 times the length of its mantle, giving a total length of almost 5.5 m (18 ft). This makes A. acanthoderma one of the longest known cephalopods.
The type specimen of A. acanthoderma was collected in the Celebes Sea and is deposited at the Zoologisk Museum of Københavns Universitet in Copenhagen.A. acanthoderma is also known from waters off the Cayman Islands, the Florida Keys,Okinawa, and Hawaii.
The first known specimen from the Atlantic Ocean was found by a charter fisherman while floating in 250 m (820 ft) deep water off the southern coast of Key West, Florida on 20 February 2007. It measured 73 cm (2.40 ft) ML and is thought to have been 4.9 to 7.3 m (16 to 24 ft) long when intact. Although an incomplete specimen, missing most of its tentacles, it weighed 6 kg (13 lb) and measured 2 m (6.6 ft) in total length.
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Wikipedia