''Magnapinna atlantica'', previously known as "''Magnapinna'' sp. A", is a species of

bigfin squid Bigfin squids are a group of rarely seen cephalopods with a distinctive morphology. They are placed in the genus ''Magnapinna'' and family Magnapinnidae. Although the family is known only from larval, paralarval, and juvenile specimens, some a ...

known from only two specimens collected in the northern

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

. It is characterised by several unique morphological features: the tentacle bases are narrower than adjacent arm bases, the proximal tentacle lacks suckers but possesses glandular structures, and the animal's pigment is contained mostly in functional chromatophores. ''M. atlantica'' was described in 2006 by Michael Vecchione and Richard E. Young. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, deposited in the

National Museum of Natural History The National Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum administered by the Smithsonian Institution, located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., United States. It has free admission and is open 364 days a year. In 2021, with 7 ...

(cat. no. USNM 1086800), is an immature female of

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 (ML) 59 mm, captured in the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

on September 16, 1995 at . This specimen is relatively intact with damage only to the tips of the arms and tentacles. The paratype, held in the Natural History Museum (cat. no. BMNH 20060134), is an immature male of 53 mm ML, captured over the

Mid-Atlantic Ridge The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge (a divergent or constructive plate boundary) located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and part of the longest mountain range in the world. In the North Atlantic, the ridge separates the North Ame ...

near the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

on June 21, 1997 at .

References

*Vecchione, M., R.E. Young, A. Guerra, D.J. Lindsay, D.A. Clague, J.M. Bernhard, W.W. Sager, A.F. Gonzalez, F.J. Rocha & M. Segonzac. 2001. Worldwide observations of remarkable deep-sea squids. ''Science'' 294: 2505-2506. *Vecchione, M. & R.E. Young. 2006. The squid family Magnapinnidae (Mollusca; Cephalopoda) in the North Atlantic with a description of ''Magnapinna atlantica'', n. sp.. ''Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash.'' 119(3): 365-372.

External links

Tree of Life web project: ''Magnapinna atlantica''''Magnapinna atlantica'': Description continued''Magnapinna atlantica'': Description of paratype
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6731277 Squid Molluscs described in 2006