Australiteuthis
Australiteuthis aldrichi is a small species of squid from northern Australian waters. It was described by Chung Cheng Lu in 2005 based on specimens collected in inshore waters of Northern Australia. The largest known individual of this species is a mature female measuring 27.6 mm in mantle length (ML). The holotype is a mature male of 21.3 mm ML. A. aldrichi has never been seen alive. It is the only member of the genus Australiteuthis and the family Australiteuthidae.
| Australiteuthis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype of Australiteuthis aldrichi (21.3 mm ML) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Myopsida |
| Family: | Australiteuthidae Lu, 2005 |
| Genus: | Australiteuthis Lu, 2005 |
| Species: | A. aldrichi |
| Binomial name | |
| Australiteuthis aldrichi Lu, 2005[1] | |
A. aldrichi is characterised by several unique morphological features. It has an unusual funnel locking apparatus which contains a boomerang-shaped groove. Its fins are separated from each other and possess posterior lobes. The ink sac contains a dumbbell-shaped photophore.
The species is named after Frederick Allen Aldrich (1927–1991), a prominent teuthologist and former Moses Harvey Professor of Marine Biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
References
- Julian Finn (2016). "Australiteuthis aldrichi Lu, 2005". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 20 February 2018.
- Lu, C.C. 2005. A new family of myopsid squid from Australasian waters (Cephalopoda: Teuthida). pp. 71–82. In: Chotiyaputta, C., E.M.C. Hatfield & C.C. Lu (eds.). Cephalopod biology, recruitment and culture. International Cephalopod Symposium and Workshop, 17–21 February 2003. Research Bulletin, Phyuket Marine Biological Center, No. 66, Published by the Center Phuket, Thailand, July 2005, 365 pp.