''Bathyteuthis'' is the singular

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting ...

in the family Bathyteuthidae, encompassing three species. ''Bathyteuthis'' species are found scattered throughout the world’s oceans at

mesopelagic The mesopelagic zone (Greek μέσον, middle), also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone, is the part of the pelagic zone that lies between the photic epipelagic and the aphotic bathypelagic zones. It is defined by light, and begins a ...

bathypelagic The bathypelagic zone or bathyal zone (from Greek βαθύς (bathýs), deep) is the part of the open ocean that extends from a depth of below the ocean surface. It lies between the mesopelagic above, and the abyssopelagic below. The bathypelagic ...

depths, commonly between 700 and 2,000 meters. They are found in deep-sea territories and can be spotted on the coast of New England. The genus contains bioluminescent species.

Description

''Bathyteuthis'' are deep reddish maroon in colour and small in size, with none exceeding 80 mm in

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

length. The arms on ''Bathyteuthis'' are short, joined by a low, fleshy web, with suckers arranged in irregular rows (two proximally increasing to four distally). Tentacular clubs are short and narrow, with 8-10 longitudinal series of numerous, minute suckers. Buccal connectives have small suckers attached to the dorsal border of the ventral arms (arms IV). Fins are small, round and separate. The head has eyes turned slightly to the front. Suckers lack circularis muscles. Females have paired

oviduct The oviduct in mammals, is the passageway from an ovary. In human females this is more usually known as the Fallopian tube or uterine tube. The eggs travel along the oviduct. These eggs will either be fertilized by spermatozoa to become a zygote, ...

Reproduction

While the reproduction of many deep-sea squids is poorly known, one ''Bathyteuthis'' species, ''B. berryi'', is known to brood its eggs after spawning. It lays relatively few eggs but these eggs are large, protected from predators and parasites, and develop and hatch at a depth decided by the parent.

Taxonomy

''Bathyteuthis'' shares some characters with oegopsid squid and others with the Myopsida, hence its placement in a separate suborder, the

Bathyteuthoidea The Bathyteuthoidea are small, mesopelagic to bathypelagic squid that in some ways resemble myopsid squid, such as '' Loligo'' and in others the pelagic oegopsid squid. Its two families, the Bathyteuthidae and Chtenopterygidae, each containing ...

, by some authorities. The paired oviducts (in females) and suckers without circularis muscles are characteristic of ordinary Oegopsida. However, buccal connective tissue with suckers and tentacle pockets in the head are characters found in myopsid squid, but absent in the Oegopsida.

Species

*''

Bathyteuthis abyssicola ''Bathyteuthis abyssicola'', also known as the deepsea squid, is a species of squid in the family Bathyteuthidae. ''Bathyteuthis abyssicola'' is the type species of '' Bathyteuthis''. It is a small (less than 8 cm mantle length), deep maroon-c ...

'', deepsea squid *''

Bathyteuthis bacidifera ''Bathyteuthis'' is the singular genus of squid in the family Bathyteuthidae, encompassing three species. ''Bathyteuthis'' species are found scattered throughout the world’s oceans at mesopelagic to bathypelagic depths, commonly between 700 ...

'' *''

Bathyteuthis berryi ''Bathyteuthis'' is the singular genus of squid in the family Bathyteuthidae, encompassing three species. ''Bathyteuthis'' species are found scattered throughout the world’s oceans at mesopelagic to bathypelagic depths, commonly between 700 ...

References

* tp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/009/ac479e/AC479E26.pdf FAO Bathyteuthidae

External links

Squid Bioluminescent molluscs Taxa named by William Evans Hoyle {{squid-stub