''Psychroteuthis glacialis'', the glacial squid, is the only known species in the
monotypic genus ''Psychroteuthis'', in the
family Psychroteuthidae. While only one species has been confirmed, two undescribed species also probably exist. The species occurs in
coastal waters near
Antarctica and
South America. It grows to 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 .
Ecology
''P. glacialis'' is known to feed on many
crustaceans,
fish,
lanternfish,
Antarctic krill
Antarctic krill (''Euphausia superba'') is a species of krill found in the Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean. It is a small, swimming crustacean that lives in large schools, called swarms, sometimes reaching densities of 10,000–30,000 ind ...
, and
Antarctic silverfish, and has been known to practice
cannibalism
Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...
. Animals known to routinely feed on glacial squid include the
Antarctic petrel
The Antarctic petrel (''Thalassoica antarctica'') is a boldly marked dark brown and white petrel, found in Antarctica, most commonly in the Ross and Weddell Seas. They eat Antarctic krill, fish, and small squid. They feed while swimming but can d ...
,
light-mantled albatross,
Ross seal,
southern elephant seal,
Weddell seal,
Patagonian toothfish,
wandering albatross,
grey-headed albatross, the
Adélie penguin
The Adélie penguin (''Pygoscelis adeliae'') is a species of penguin common along the entire coast of the Antarctic continent, which is the only place where it is found. It is the most widespread penguin species, and, along with the emperor p ...
, and the
emperor penguin
The emperor penguin (''Aptenodytes forsteri'') is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in length and weighing from . Feathers of th ...
.
Distribution
The squid inhabits the
pelagic zone
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or wa ...
in
subtropical
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...
regions. It is found in depths of .
References
External links
Tree of Life web project: ''Psychroteuthis glacialis''
Squid
Molluscs described in 1920
Fauna of the Southern Ocean
Taxa named by Johannes Thiele (zoologist)
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