Bathyteuthis abyssicola

Bathyteuthis abyssicola, also known as the deepsea squid, is a species of squid in the family Bathyteuthidae.

Bathyteuthis abyssicola
Dorsal (top) and ventral aspects
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
(unranked):	Neocoleoidea
Superorder:	Decapodiformes
Superfamily:	Bathyteuthoidea
Family:	Bathyteuthidae
Genus:	Bathyteuthis
Species:	B. abyssicola
Binomial name
Bathyteuthis abyssicola Hoyle, 1885[2]
Synonyms[2]
Benthoteuthis megalops Verrill, 1885

Bathyteuthis abyssicola is the type species of Bathyteuthis. It is a small (less than 8 cm mantle length), deep maroon-colored squid that inhabits the meso- and bathypelagic zones of all oceans of the world, and is particularly abundant in the Southern Ocean where it seems to be the dominant small deep-sea squid. B. abyssicola normally occurs at depths from 700–2,000 m (2,300–6,600 ft), but has been recorded from 100–4,200 m (330–13,780 ft).

The arms of B. abyssicola are short, with blunt tips. Protective membranes are low, fleshy, without free trabeculae (beam- or finger-like protuberances). Suckers are relatively few in number, about 100 on each of the upper six arms (pairs I–III). Sucker rings on the arms have 8–18 separated, bluntly rounded to truncate protuberances. The tentacles and clubs are relatively short. Gills are short and narrow.

They have large photosensitive vesicles just behind the eyes which appear to detect bioluminescence. These photosensitive vesicles are among the largest known in any cephalopod.

Bathyteuthis abyssicola from the Ross Sea of Antarctica (67°37′S 178°55′W)