''Magnapinna pacifica'' 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 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 In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the

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 ...

Magnapinna Bigfin squids are a group of rarely seen cephalopods with a distinctive Morphology (biology), morphology. They are placed in the genus ''Magnapinna'' and family (biology), family Magnapinnidae. Although the family is known only from larval, para ...

''. 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 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 ...

is a juvenile specimen of 51 mm

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), taken off the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

n coast at a depth of 0–200 m in a Bongo

plankton net A plankton net is equipment used for collecting samples of plankton in standing bodies of water. It consists of a towing line and bridles, nylon mesh net, and a cod end. Plankton nets are considered one of the oldest, simplest and least expensi ...

. The paratype (USNM 885787), a juvenile specimen of 49 mm ML, was found in the stomach of a lancetfish (''

Alepisaurus ferox ''Alepisaurus ferox'', the long snouted lancetfish, longnose lancetfish, or cannibal fish, is a species of lancetfish found in the ocean depths down to 1,830 m (6,000 ft). This species grows to in total length and a weight of . It is ...

''). It had initially dried out and was later reconstituted. The third individual, a 19.1 mm ML paralarva, was taken off

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

at a depth of 0–300 m in a 4 m² plankton net.

References

*Vecchione, M. & R.E. Young. 1998. The Magnapinnidae, a newly discovered family of oceanic squids (Cephalopoda; Oegopsida). ''South African Journal of Marine Science'' 20: 429-437.

External links

Tree of Life web project: ''Magnapinna pacifica''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q528938 Squid Cephalopods of Oceania Cephalopods of North America Fauna of California Molluscs described in 1998