''Liguriella'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of glass squids, the genus is probably

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

, the only species being ''Liguriella podophthalma''. The other named species '' Liguriella pardus'', which was described by

S. Stillman Berry Samuel Stillman Berry (March 16, 1887 – April 9, 1984) was an American marine zoologist specialized in cephalopods. Early life Berry was born in Unity, Maine, but the family home was the Winnecook Ranch in Montana, which had been founded ...

in 1916, is cited as a ''

taxon inquirendum In biological classification, a ''species inquirenda'' is a species of doubtful identity requiring further investigation. The use of the term in English-language biological literature dates back to at least the early nineteenth century. The term t ...

'' but it is suggested that there may be in fact more than one species and there are species yet to be described.

Description

''Liguriella podophthalma'' is a moderate sized squid, attaining a

mantle A mantle is a piece of clothing, a type of cloak. Several other meanings are derived from that. Mantle may refer to: *Mantle (clothing), a cloak-like garment worn mainly by women as fashionable outerwear **Mantle (vesture), an Eastern Orthodox ve ...

length of at least 243mm. The tentacles have a

tentacular club All cephalopods possess flexible limbs extending from their heads and surrounding their beaks. These appendages, which function as muscular hydrostats, have been variously termed arms, legs or tentacles. Description In the scientific li ...

which only have suckers, there is no carpal cluster and the stalks have two rows of suckers and knobs. The funnel has no valve and the funnel organ has a dorsal pad which has three papillae. There are tubercles at the join of the funnel and the mantle. The fins are inserted posterior at the distal end of the

gladius ''Gladius'' () is a Latin word meaning "sword" (of any type), but in its narrow sense it refers to the sword of ancient Roman foot soldiers. Early ancient Roman swords were similar to those of the Greeks, called '' xiphe'' (plural; singular ''xi ...

and only the anterior edge of the fins is not so inserted into the gladius. The eye contains two

photophores A photophore is a glandular organ that appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors, ...

which run together and there are no photophores on the arms. The contiguous photophores on the eyes are unusual within the Cranchiidae and are only shared with '' Sandalops''.

Distribution

''Liguriella podophthalma'' occurs around the world where it can be found in the tropical, subtropical and northern sub-Antarctic waters of the oceans.

Habitat and ecology

The overall vertical distribution of ''Liguriella podophthalma'' extends from just below the surface to depths of over 1000m to 1500m. The

paralarvae Paralarvae (singular: ''paralarva'') are young cephalopods in the planktonic stages between hatchling and subadult. This stage differs from the larval stage of animals that undergo true metamorphosis. Paralarvae have been observed only in mem ...

and juveniles of less than 40mm mantle length occur in the upper water column to 400m. As they mature they migrate to progressively greater depths, an ontogenetic descent, and this reaches to about 1500 m, the depth at which the largest individual collected to date was recorded, it had a mantle length of 243mm and was a subadult.

References

External links

Tree of Life web project: ''Liguriella''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3203873 Squid Molluscs described in 1908 Cephalopod genera Bioluminescent molluscs