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 (14 in). 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

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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

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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

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  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. ^ a b 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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