Karen Cram, Canada
Info
Stump-tailed squid are mainly known from tropical waters, but few people are aware that they also live in cold waters in the Gulf of Alaska.
The tentacles of the small squid can be extended longer than the body or retracted into a socket, they have slender terminal clubs that carry up to eight partial rows of small suckers with chitinized teeth in the middle, a deadly weapon for unwary prey,
The color of the squid is reddish-brown above and pale below, completely opalescent greenish-grey when disturbed.
Sepiolids differ from cuttlefish in that they have two2 tentacles and fins on the sides in addition to the 8 arms.
The tentacles only have suction cups at the ends.
They differ from cuttlefish in having a body that is not much longer than it is wide, in having broad, rounded fins that extend over most of the body length, in having dorsal hectocotylus arms and in having tentacles that can be retracted into a pouch.
The maximum dorsal mantle length of Rossia pacifica is about 5 cm in females and about 3-4 cm in males.
The total length (including arms but excluding tentacles) is about 11 cm in females and about 9 cm in males.
The head is large and the arm lengths are variable, normally the dorsal arms are the shortest and the third arms the longest.
The suckers are the same size on all arms except the dorsal arms of the male, which are hectocotylated and have much smaller suckers.
The tentacles of the small squid can be extended longer than the body or retracted into a socket, they have slender terminal clubs that carry up to eight partial rows of small suckers with chitinized teeth in the middle, a deadly weapon for unwary prey,
The color of the squid is reddish-brown above and pale below, completely opalescent greenish-grey when disturbed.
Sepiolids differ from cuttlefish in that they have two2 tentacles and fins on the sides in addition to the 8 arms.
The tentacles only have suction cups at the ends.
They differ from cuttlefish in having a body that is not much longer than it is wide, in having broad, rounded fins that extend over most of the body length, in having dorsal hectocotylus arms and in having tentacles that can be retracted into a pouch.
The maximum dorsal mantle length of Rossia pacifica is about 5 cm in females and about 3-4 cm in males.
The total length (including arms but excluding tentacles) is about 11 cm in females and about 9 cm in males.
The head is large and the arm lengths are variable, normally the dorsal arms are the shortest and the third arms the longest.
The suckers are the same size on all arms except the dorsal arms of the male, which are hectocotylated and have much smaller suckers.
