''Moroteuthopsis'' is a genus of

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 ...

in the family

Onychoteuthidae The hooked squid, family (biology), family Onychoteuthidae, currently comprise about 20–25 species (several known from only single life stages and thus unconfirmed), in six or seven genus, genera. They range in mature mantle (mollusc), mantle l ...

. The

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

is '' Moroteuthopsis ingens''. Prior to 2018, ''Moroteuthopsis'' was considered a subgenus of ''Onykia''; after the mitochondrial DNA of the family

was studied, ''"O." ingens'' was found to group together with ''Kondakovia'', and the subgenus ''Moroteuthopsis'' was elevated to full genus status. This genus is similar to ''Onykia'', both possessing warty or longitudinally-ridged skin,

ammonia Ammonia is an inorganic chemical compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the chemical formula, formula . A Binary compounds of hydrogen, stable binary hydride and the simplest pnictogen hydride, ammonia is a colourless gas with a distinctive pu ...

cal tissues, large body size, and the lack of

photophore A photophore is a specialized anatomical structure found in a variety of organisms that emits light through the process of boluminescence. This light may be produced endogenously by the organism itself (symbiotic) or generated through a mut ...

s, but can be distinguished by ''Mo. spp.'' lacking a Y-shaped ridge in the

funnel A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening. Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...

and symmetrical grooves on the "claw portion" of the tentacular hooks, both of these present in ''Onykia'', along with the rostrum segment of the

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 ...

being proportionally shorter in ''Mo. spp.''.

References

External links

Tree of Life web project: ''Kondakovia''
*Laptikhovsky, V.; Arkhipkin, A.; Bolstad, K.S. 2008
A second species of the squid genus ''Kondakovia'' (Cephalopoda: Onychoteuthidae) from the sub-Antarctic.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3198617 Hooked squid Cephalopod genera