Helicocranchia pfefferi

Banded piglet squid
Ventral view of a specimen taken off Southern California (41 mm ML)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Family: Cranchiidae
Subfamily: Taoniinae
Genus: Helicocranchia
Species:
H. pfefferi
Binomial name
Helicocranchia pfefferi
Massy, 1907
Synonyms

Helicocranchia beebei Robson, 1948

Helicocranchia pfefferi, the banded piglet squid, is a small squid of the genus Helicocranchia. Adults of this species are mesopelagic.

Physical characteristics

The average size of adult H. pfefferi is 100 mm (3.9 in) in mantle length (ML). The body consists of a large funnel with small paddle-like fins. They have small tentacles above their eyes. The funnel does not have valves, but contains a dorsal pad with three papillae as organs.[citation needed] Paddle-shaped fins are attached to a part of the gladius. H. pfefferi has a single ocular photophore and does not have photophores at its arm tips.

Habitat

H. pfefferi can be found in subtropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean, and in the Pacific Ocean, though this record may represent a new species of the same genus Helicocranchia. As paralarvae (<30 mm ML), they live near the surface of the oceans, between 100 m and 200 m deep. They descend to the mesopelagic zone as they mature, but exhibit a diel vertical migration pattern.

Prey

Its diet resembles that of most squid: fish, shrimp, and squid.

References

  1. ↑ Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Helicocranchia pfefferi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014 e.T162906A951921. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T162906A951921.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ↑ Julian Finn (2016). "Helicocranchia pfefferi Massy, 1907". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Bolstad, K.S.R.; Perez, Jose Angel; Strugnell, J.M.; Vidal, Erica (February 26, 2014). "Cranchiids of the South Atlantic Mid-Oceanic Ridge: results from the first southern MAR-ECO expedition". Research Gate.
  4. ↑ Judkins, H.; Rose-Mann, L.; Lindgren, A.; Taite, M.; Bush, S.; Vecchione, M. (2022). "A newly discovered Helicocranchia species (Cephalopoda: Cranchiidae: Taoniinae) in the northern Gulf of Mexico". Bulletin of Marine Science. 98 (3): 419–430. doi:10.5343/bms.2021.0048.
  5. ↑ Lu, C.C. & M.R. Clarke (1975). "Vertical Distribution of Cephalopods at 11° N 20° W in the North Atlantic". Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 55 (2): 369–389. Bibcode:1975JMBUK..55..369L. doi:10.1017/S0025315400016003. S2CID 250946620.