Note

Cirroctopus hochbergi Description Continued

Steve O'Shea, Richard E. Young, and Michael Vecchione
  1. Arms and web
    1. Arm formula 1>2>3>4 or 2>1>3>4; longest arm 65-78% of TL, shortest arm 46-71% of ML.
    2. Sexual dimorphism in suckers absent.
    3. Sucker numbers 3-4 small, next 30-35 suckers of similar size but slightly enlarged, next 30-35 suckers (those beyond web margin) rapidly decrease in size to arm tip.
    4. Suckers with small suction chamber, large, simple sucker aperature (drawing on right).
    5. Arm sucker counts to 88; more numerous in females than males of similar size.
    6. Web nodules absent.
    7. Cirri short, 3-6% of ML or 0.7-1.2 times largest sucker diameter.
    8. First cirri between suckers 1 and 2.
    9. Web sectors A and B deepest, E shallowest.
    10. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Longitudinal section through a sucker of C. hochbergi. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  2. Eyes
    1. Eyes large.

  3. Funnel
    1. Form of funnel organ unknown.

  4. Fins
    1. Fins massive; length 85-173% of ML; width 36-43% of fin length.

  5. Mantle cavity
    1. Mantle septum with thin adductor muscle anteriorly and thin membrane posteriorly.
    2. Gills half-orange shape.
    3. Gills with 7-8 primary lamellae (inner- and outer-most reduced in size).

  6. Optic lobe and nerves
    1. Optic lobe kidney-shaped.
    2. 7-8 optic nerve bundles pass through/by white body.
    3. White bodies (violet colored) fused in dorsal midline.
    4. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Optic lobe, optic nerve bundles and white body of C. hochbergi, male, 86 mm ML. Drawing from O'Shea (1999).

  7. Digestive tract
    1. Radula absent.
    2. Salivary glands absent.
    3. Crop absent.
    4. Stomach and caecum about equal in size.
    5. Intestine about 2.5 times esophagus in length.
    6. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Digestive tract of C. hochbergi, male, 86 mm ML. Drawing from O'Shea (1999)

  8. Beaks
    1. Upper beak (right) with square crest; jaw minutely serrate (2 or 3 teeth); rostrum sharp, slightly deflected down; weak lateral-wall fold.
    2. Lower beak (left) rostrum with blunt tip. Photographs of the beaks can be found here.
    3. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Beaks of C. hochbergi, male 86 mm ML. Left - Lateral and ventral views of the lower beak. Right - Lateral and dorsal views of the upper beak. Drawings from O'Shea (1999).

  9. Male reproductive system
    1. Terminal accessory gland largest.
    2. Penis small, flimsy, triangular, lappet-like.
    3. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Male reproductive system of C. hochbergi, 86 mm ML. Drawing from O'Shea (1999)

  10. Female reproductive system
    1. Proximal oviduct about 5 times length of distal oviduct.
    2. Oviducal gland massive; distal portion nearly twice length of proximal portion.
    3. Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
      Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window

      Figure. Female reproductive system of C. hochbergi, 124 mm ML. Dark object on the oviducal gland is an encapsulated egg. Photograph from O'Shea (1999).

  11. Pigmentation
    1. One white patch at the base of each fin and below each eye.
    2. Dorsal surfaces mauve to purple.
    3. Ventral surface of mantle and dorsal and ventral surfaces of fins slightly paler, reddish.
    4. Edges of eyelids white to pale mauve.
    5. Oral surfaces of web sectors A, B and C (to sucker 16-18) and D and E (to sucker 12-13) deep mauve to purple; outer oral surfaces of web and oral surfaces of arms and suckers white to pale mauve.

  12. Measurements and counts
    Sex Female Male? Male Male ?
    ML, mm 151 126 89 88 58
    MW, mm 132 105 132 91 57
    Fin length 158 108 154 81 78
    Fin width 47 47 64 32 29
    Length, arm I 324 274 290 170 145
    Length, arm II 316 279 325 170 148
    Length, arm III 314 271 304 162 154
    Length, arm IV 300 255 280 147 140
    Web depth, sect. A 194 150 120 117 90
    Web depth, sect. B 174 160 162 117 87
    Web depth, sect. C 157 142 163 95 82
    Web depth, sect. D 131 123 100 80 70
    Web depth, sect. E 81 67 78 50 48
    Sucker counts, arm I 86 78 72 72 77
    Sucker counts, arm II 88 77 77 74 77
    Sucker counts, arm III 86 78 72 72 73
    Sucker counts, arm IV 84 79 73 70 74
    Max. arm sucker diam. 5.5-6.0 5.2-6.0 6.0-7.0 3.0-3.1 2.5-3.0
    Number, gill lamellae 7 7 7 7 8
    Measurements are from O'Shea (1999). Measurements from right and left sides are averaged and rounded.

References

O'Shea, Steve. 1999. The Marine Fauna of New Zealand: Octopoda (Mollusca: Cephalopoda). NIWA Biodiversity Memoir 112: 280pp.

About This Page

Steve O'Shea
Oceanic Sciences Research Institute, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand


University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, USA


National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D. C. , USA

All Rights Reserved.

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