Rudie Hermann Kuiter, Aquatic Photographics, Australien
Info
The sizes of Argonauta nodosus vary greatly in the sources, sometimes the shell and sometimes the “inhabitant” of the shell is measured.
SeaLifeBase currently gives a size of 13cm for females and 1.2cm for the dwarf males of this species.
Rudie & Steven Kuiter have documented a shell length of 31cm in their book “Marine Fauna of Port Phillip Bay”, 2022, page 151.
As a rule, this paper boat lives in the water column and pursues its favorite food, krill.
In winter, large quantities of Argonauta nodosus and krill regularly wash up on the coasts of Victoria, Australia.
The mating behavior of Argonauta nodosus is particularly remarkable:
When a male finds a female, he himself amputates a special arm that contains sperm, this arm is called a “hectocotylus”.
After the male dwarf has “separated” from this arm, it crawls into the female's gills, where it remains alive.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish, which they use as a food source and possibly for camouflage.
They have also been reported to “ride” on jellyfish.
Female argonauts use glands on their dorsal arms to secrete a shell in which they lay their eggs.
They produce the shell early in life (before maturation) and use it as a home.
Males are dwarfed, and males of other argonaut species have also been reported to live in salps.
Males have a modified third arm that detaches during mating and carries the spermatophore to the females.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish
The males are dwarfed, and it has been reported that males of other argonaut species also live in salps.
The males have a modified third arm that detaches during mating and carries the spermatophore to the females.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish, which they use as a food source and possibly for camouflage.
They have also been reported to “ride” on jellyfish.
Although little is known about the reproduction of this species, it is likely to be similar to Argonauta argo, where the eggs are small (50,000) and are released in batches of a few thousand per day over a period of about a month.
The eggs are incubated in the shell until they hatch, with up to five developmental stages present at any one time.
The species is thought to be semi-parent and probably has a life expectancy of around one year, as is common with other cephalopods.
We would especially like to thank Rudie H. Kuiter, Australia, for the first great photo of Argonauta nodosus!
Synonyms:
Argonauta bibula Röding, 1798 · unaccepted (synonym)
Argonauta gondola Dillwyn, 1817 · unaccepted
Argonauta gracilis T. W. Kirk, 1885 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta navicula [Lightfoot], 1786 · unaccepted
Argonauta nodosa [Lightfoot], 1786 · unaccepted (wrong gender agreement of...)
Argonauta oryzata Meuschen, 1787 · unaccepted
Argonauta rotundus Perry, 1811 · unaccepted
Argonauta tuberculatus Röding, 1798 · unaccepted
Argonauta tuberculatus f. aurita E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculatus f. mutica E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculatus f. obtusangula E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculosus Schumacher, 1817 · unaccepted
Ocythoe raricyathus Blainville, 1826 · unaccepted
SeaLifeBase currently gives a size of 13cm for females and 1.2cm for the dwarf males of this species.
Rudie & Steven Kuiter have documented a shell length of 31cm in their book “Marine Fauna of Port Phillip Bay”, 2022, page 151.
As a rule, this paper boat lives in the water column and pursues its favorite food, krill.
In winter, large quantities of Argonauta nodosus and krill regularly wash up on the coasts of Victoria, Australia.
The mating behavior of Argonauta nodosus is particularly remarkable:
When a male finds a female, he himself amputates a special arm that contains sperm, this arm is called a “hectocotylus”.
After the male dwarf has “separated” from this arm, it crawls into the female's gills, where it remains alive.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish, which they use as a food source and possibly for camouflage.
They have also been reported to “ride” on jellyfish.
Female argonauts use glands on their dorsal arms to secrete a shell in which they lay their eggs.
They produce the shell early in life (before maturation) and use it as a home.
Males are dwarfed, and males of other argonaut species have also been reported to live in salps.
Males have a modified third arm that detaches during mating and carries the spermatophore to the females.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish
The males are dwarfed, and it has been reported that males of other argonaut species also live in salps.
The males have a modified third arm that detaches during mating and carries the spermatophore to the females.
Female argonauts are often associated with jellyfish, which they use as a food source and possibly for camouflage.
They have also been reported to “ride” on jellyfish.
Although little is known about the reproduction of this species, it is likely to be similar to Argonauta argo, where the eggs are small (50,000) and are released in batches of a few thousand per day over a period of about a month.
The eggs are incubated in the shell until they hatch, with up to five developmental stages present at any one time.
The species is thought to be semi-parent and probably has a life expectancy of around one year, as is common with other cephalopods.
We would especially like to thank Rudie H. Kuiter, Australia, for the first great photo of Argonauta nodosus!
Synonyms:
Argonauta bibula Röding, 1798 · unaccepted (synonym)
Argonauta gondola Dillwyn, 1817 · unaccepted
Argonauta gracilis T. W. Kirk, 1885 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta navicula [Lightfoot], 1786 · unaccepted
Argonauta nodosa [Lightfoot], 1786 · unaccepted (wrong gender agreement of...)
Argonauta oryzata Meuschen, 1787 · unaccepted
Argonauta rotundus Perry, 1811 · unaccepted
Argonauta tuberculatus Röding, 1798 · unaccepted
Argonauta tuberculatus f. aurita E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculatus f. mutica E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculatus f. obtusangula E. von Martens, 1867 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym
Argonauta tuberculosus Schumacher, 1817 · unaccepted
Ocythoe raricyathus Blainville, 1826 · unaccepted
