Magnapinna pacifica
Encyclopedia
Magnapinna pacifica is a species of bigfin squid
known only from three immature specimens; two caught at a depth of less than 300 m and one from a fish stomach. M. pacifica is the type species
of the genus
Magnapinna. It is characterised primarily by its proximal tentacles, which are wider than adjacent arms and bear numerous suckers.
M. pacifica was described in 1998 by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young based on three specimens. The holotype
is a juvenile specimen of 51 mm mantle
length (ML), taken off the California
n coast at a depth of 0-200 m in a Bongo plankton
net. The paratype
(USNM 885787), a juvenile specimen of 49 mm ML, was found in the stomach of a lancetfish
(Alepisaurus ferox). It had initially dried out and was later reconstituted. The third individual, a 19.1 mm ML paralarva, was taken off Hawaii
at a depth of 0-300 m in a 4 m2 plankton net.
Bigfin squid
The bigfin squids are a group of rarely seen cephalopods with a distinctive morphology. They are placed in the genus Magnapinna and family Magnapinnidae...
known only from three immature specimens; two caught at a depth of less than 300 m and one from a fish stomach. M. pacifica is the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Magnapinna. It is characterised primarily by its proximal tentacles, which are wider than adjacent arms and bear numerous suckers.
M. pacifica was described in 1998 by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young based on three specimens. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
is a juvenile specimen of 51 mm mantle
Mantle (mollusc)
The mantle is a significant part of the anatomy of molluscs: it is the dorsal body wall which covers the visceral mass and usually protrudes in the form of flaps well beyond the visceral mass itself.In many, but by no means all, species of molluscs, the epidermis of the mantle secretes...
length (ML), taken off the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n coast at a depth of 0-200 m in a Bongo plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
net. The paratype
Paratype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
(USNM 885787), a juvenile specimen of 49 mm ML, was found in the stomach of a lancetfish
Lancetfish
Lancetfishes are large oceanic predatory fishes in the genus Alepisaurus , the only living genus in the family Alepisauridae....
(Alepisaurus ferox). It had initially dried out and was later reconstituted. The third individual, a 19.1 mm ML paralarva, was taken off Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
at a depth of 0-300 m in a 4 m2 plankton net.