''Lepidoteuthis grimaldii'', also known as the Grimaldi scaled squid, is a large
squid
A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...
growing to in
mantle length. It is named after the
Grimaldi family, reigning house of
Monaco
Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...
.
Prince Albert I of Monaco was an amateur
teuthologist who pioneered the study of deep sea squids by collecting the 'precious regurgitations' of
sperm whale
The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the Genus (biology), genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the s ...
s. The Grimaldi scaled squid was first collected from the stomach contents of a sperm whale.
[Albert 1er of Monaco. "Notes sur un Cachalot." ''Bulletin du Muséum d’histoire naturelle'' 1895, no. 8.] It is a widely distributed species in tropical and subtropical areas of the North and South Atlantic, the southern Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, where it has been recorded off Japan and in the west Pacific.
Syntype
In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part o ...
(86 cm ML)
File:Lepidoteuthis grimaldii scales.jpg, Closeup of the mantle scales
File:Lepidoteuthis grimaldii gladius.jpg, Gladius
''Gladius'' () is a Latin word properly referring to the type of sword that was used by Ancient Rome, ancient Roman foot soldiers starting from the 3rd century BC and until the 3rd century AD. Linguistically, within Latin, the word also came t ...
See also
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Cephalopod size
Cephalopods, which include squids and octopuses, vary enormously in size. The smallest are only about long and weigh less than at maturity, while the giant squid can exceed in length and the colossal squid weighs close to half a tonne (), makin ...
References
External links
Tree of Life web project: ''Lepidoteuthis grimaldii''TONMO.com article: Unique hooks in the male scaled squid ''Lepidoteuthis grimaldii'' Joubin, 1895
Octopoteuthoidea
House of Grimaldi
Monotypic cephalopod genera
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