Batoteuthis

Batoteuthis skolops, the bush-club squid, is the single rare species in genus Batoteuthis, which is the only genus in family Batoteuthidae. The squid is found in Antarctic waters, and reaches a mantle length of at least 350 mm. Some features of this creature are a small head, a long tail and a very peculiar tentacle with six series of suckers on the club.

Bush-club squid
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Superfamily: Chiroteuthoidea
Family: Batoteuthidae
Young & Roper, 1968
Genus: Batoteuthis
Young & Roper, 1968
Species:
B. skolops
Binomial name
Batoteuthis skolops
Young & Roper, 1968[1]

The genus contains bioluminescent species.[2]

Distribution

B. skolops occurs in the Southern Ocean.[3] Its range may be circumpolar with a strict Antarctic distribution[4] and it may live in bathypelagic depths.

Ecology

This squid is eaten by several predators in the Southern Ocean, like albatrosses and sperm whales.

Their diet is unknown, but 15N ratios showed high values in their tissues[4] which point towards either a high trophic level, or living in great depths (or both).

References
  1. Julian Finn (2016). "Batroteuthis skolops Young & Roper, 1968". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 24 February 2018.
  2. Herring, Peter J. (1987). "Systematic distribution of bioluminescence in living organisms". Journal of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence. 1 (3): 147–163. doi:10.1002/bio.1170010303. PMID 3503524.
  3. Xavier, J.C. & Rodhouse, P.G. & Trathan, P.N. & Wood, A.G. 1999. A Geographical Information System (GIS) Atlas of cephalopod distribution in the Southern Ocean. Antarctic Science, Published online on May 6, 2004 doi:10.1017/S0954102099000097
  4. Guerreiro, Miguel & Phillips, Richard A & Cherel, Yves & Ceia, Filipe R & Alvito, Pedro & Rosa, Rui & Xavier, José C. 2015. Habitat and trophic ecology of Southern Ocean cephalopods from stable isotope analyses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, published online on June 18, 2015. doi:10.3354/meps11266
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