152
MALCOLM R. OLARRE
F. Tetronychoteuthis
1. Tetronychoteuthis dussumieri d'Orbigny, 1839
This species is very rare in collections and has only been recovered
from the stomachs of predators. It has been recorded north of Mauritius
(d'orbigny, 1835-1848, 1845), south of Australia at 46's 120"E (Pfeffer,
1912), the Azores (R. Clarke, 1956), Madeira (Rees and Maul, 1956) and
the north-west Atlantic at 46'41" 47'16'W (Rees and Clarke, 1963).
Of these specimens, two were from dolphin stomachs (d'orbigny,
1835-1848; Pfeffer, 1912), several were from Sperm whale stomachs
(R. Clarke, 1956; Rees and Maul, 1956) and five were from redfish
(Sebastes mentelh) stomachs (Rees and Clarke, 1963). The author has
a number of specimens from stomachs of Sperm whales taken off
Saldanha Bay and Durban, South Africa. Robson ( 1 9 2 6 ~ ) recorded
fragments of Tetronychoteuthis sp. off Cape Town.
Rees and Maul (1956) considered that this species belongs to the
bathypelagic slope fauna living close to the bottom in the 200-2 000 m
depth range.
It can reach a mantle length of 72.0 cm (R. Clarke, 1956).
Another species of the genus T . massyae (Pfeffer, 1912) is probably
based on the young of T . dussumieri. Pfeffer described this from a
specimen taken at 48"N 15'W in the North Atlantic and Allan (1945)
also placed another small specimen taken off Australia at 42'40'5
148'16'E in T. massyae.
V. GONATIDAE
A. Gonatus
1. Gonutus fabricii (Lichtenstein, 1818)
A widely distributed species (Fig, 23) from the colder regions of the
North Atlantic and North Pacific, G . fabricii is quite distinct from all
other species except G. antarcticus which is often considered a southern
variety of G. fabricii. It has been recorded from various positions in
the Davis Strait (Fabricius, 1780; Lichtenstein, 1818; Msller, 1842;
Prosch, 1849; Mdrch, 1857, 1877; Steenstrup, 1880; Posselt, 1898;
Pfeffer, 1912; Grimpe, 1927; Brock in Hjort and Ruud, 1929; Muus,
1962; Nesis, 1965). South of Nova Scotia it is less frequently found,
but it has been recorded off Newfoundland (Frost and Thompson, 1932,
1933, 1934) and farther south (Chun, 1913; Joubin, 1924) as far as
100 miles south of Rhode Island (Verrill, 1881a). It extends across the
high Northern Atlantic (Hoyle, 1886a; Chun, 1913; Grieg, 1922) to
Iceland (Mdrch, 1868; Steenstrup, 1880; Collett, 1912; Murray and
Kjort, 1912; Bardarson, 1919; Bruun, 1946), Jan Mayen (Appelldf,
MALCOLM R. OLARRE
F. Tetronychoteuthis
1. Tetronychoteuthis dussumieri d'Orbigny, 1839
This species is very rare in collections and has only been recovered
from the stomachs of predators. It has been recorded north of Mauritius
(d'orbigny, 1835-1848, 1845), south of Australia at 46's 120"E (Pfeffer,
1912), the Azores (R. Clarke, 1956), Madeira (Rees and Maul, 1956) and
the north-west Atlantic at 46'41" 47'16'W (Rees and Clarke, 1963).
Of these specimens, two were from dolphin stomachs (d'orbigny,
1835-1848; Pfeffer, 1912), several were from Sperm whale stomachs
(R. Clarke, 1956; Rees and Maul, 1956) and five were from redfish
(Sebastes mentelh) stomachs (Rees and Clarke, 1963). The author has
a number of specimens from stomachs of Sperm whales taken off
Saldanha Bay and Durban, South Africa. Robson ( 1 9 2 6 ~ ) recorded
fragments of Tetronychoteuthis sp. off Cape Town.
Rees and Maul (1956) considered that this species belongs to the
bathypelagic slope fauna living close to the bottom in the 200-2 000 m
depth range.
It can reach a mantle length of 72.0 cm (R. Clarke, 1956).
Another species of the genus T . massyae (Pfeffer, 1912) is probably
based on the young of T . dussumieri. Pfeffer described this from a
specimen taken at 48"N 15'W in the North Atlantic and Allan (1945)
also placed another small specimen taken off Australia at 42'40'5
148'16'E in T. massyae.
V. GONATIDAE
A. Gonatus
1. Gonutus fabricii (Lichtenstein, 1818)
A widely distributed species (Fig, 23) from the colder regions of the
North Atlantic and North Pacific, G . fabricii is quite distinct from all
other species except G. antarcticus which is often considered a southern
variety of G. fabricii. It has been recorded from various positions in
the Davis Strait (Fabricius, 1780; Lichtenstein, 1818; Msller, 1842;
Prosch, 1849; Mdrch, 1857, 1877; Steenstrup, 1880; Posselt, 1898;
Pfeffer, 1912; Grimpe, 1927; Brock in Hjort and Ruud, 1929; Muus,
1962; Nesis, 1965). South of Nova Scotia it is less frequently found,
but it has been recorded off Newfoundland (Frost and Thompson, 1932,
1933, 1934) and farther south (Chun, 1913; Joubin, 1924) as far as
100 miles south of Rhode Island (Verrill, 1881a). It extends across the
high Northern Atlantic (Hoyle, 1886a; Chun, 1913; Grieg, 1922) to
Iceland (Mdrch, 1868; Steenstrup, 1880; Collett, 1912; Murray and
Kjort, 1912; Bardarson, 1919; Bruun, 1946), Jan Mayen (Appelldf,