Octopoteuthis Deletron

Description

Octopoteuthis deletron, or the octopus squid, is a species of squid that inhabits the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coast of Alaska, California, and Northern Peru at a depth of about 560 meters. They are easily distinguished from the only other northern Pacific species of Octopoteuthis, O. nielseni, because of the presence of one tail photophore (a light producing organ), rather than two. Their arms contain accessory hooks that are useful in attaching to substrates and capturing prey (Figure 1). Also contained on their arms are 3-12 pairs of suckers near the tips, each housing 6-9 irregular, pointed teeth (Figure 2). O. deletron is prey to elephant seals, the giant grenadier, and Perrin's beaked whales. These squids can grow to sizes of 24 cm or more.

Figure 1. Side view of large arm hooks of O. deletron. Left - Ca. 20 mm ML. Middle - 109 mm ML. Right - 167 mm ML. Drawings from Young (1972).

Figure 2. Top - Oral view of arm III tip of O. deletron, 167 mm ML. Bottom - Oral view of inner sucker ring from the same arm tip, 5th transverse row from hooks. Drawings from Young (1972).