''Slosarczykovia'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

, its sole representative being ''Slosarczykovia circumantarctica''. ''Slosarczykovia'' is placed in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Brachioteuthidae. ''Slosarczykovia circumantarctica'' is a relatively large species of squid attaining a mantle length of 170 mm, the mantle having a long and slender form with rhomboid shaped fins placed posteriorly. accessed Feb 25 2018. The suckers on the arms are very variable some completely lacking in teeth, others with few teeth and yet others with many teeth. The

tentacles In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...

have the largest suckers running from the proximal manus and these are about three quarters in diameter of largest sucker from proximal

dactylus The dactylus is the tip region of the tentacular club of cephalopods and of the leg of some crustaceans (see arthropod leg). In cephalopods, the dactylus is narrow and often characterized by the asymmetrical placement of suckers (i.e., the vent ...

. The suckers on the

tentacular club All cephalopods possess flexible limbs extending from their heads and surrounding their cephalopod beak, beaks. These appendages, which function as muscular hydrostats, have been variously termed arms, legs or tentacles. Description In ...

are weakly differentiated. There is no carpal locking mechanism and there are 13 small carpal suckers which form a row along the dorsal margin of the manus. In squid with a mantle length of greater than 60mm the mantle, fins, head and arms are covered in a fibrous, net like covering of the

integument In biology, an integument is the tissue surrounding an organism's body or an organ within, such as skin, a husk, Exoskeleton, shell, germ or Peel (fruit), rind. Etymology The term is derived from ''integumentum'', which is Latin for "a coverin ...

. There is no

hectocotylus A hectocotylus (: hectocotyli) is one of the arms of male cephalopods that is specialized to store and transfer spermatophores to the female. Structurally, hectocotyli are muscular hydrostats. Depending on the species, the male may use it merel ...

on the males. ''Slosarczykovia circumantarctica'' was described from a

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

collected off

Wilkes Land Wilkes Land is a large district of land in eastern Antarctica, formally claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, though this claim has been held in abeyance for the period of the operation of the Antarctic Treaty, to wh ...

, Antarctica and it is thought to have a distribution throughout the seas around Antarctica. It is one of the most common species of squid in Antarctic waters but little is known of the biology of this

pelagic The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean and can be further divided into regions by depth. The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or water column between the sur ...

species. It is not currently fished for. The generic name ''Slosarczykovia'' honours was derived from the surname of the late Dr Wieslaw Slósarczyk, who was responsible for collecting almost all the specimens used to describe the species while the

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''circumantarctica'' refers to the circumpolar distribution of the species in the Southern Ocean.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q18581436 Brachioteuthidae Monotypic cephalopod genera Cephalopods described in 2001