Family ANCISTROCHEIRIDAE

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Introduction

The monotypic family Ancistrocheiridae Gray, 1849 was regarded as a subfamily in the Enoploteuthidae until elevated to familial rank by Clarke in 1988. Members are moderate sized to over 40 cm mantle length (ML) and are found in the tropical and subtropical waters of the the world's oceans.

Clarke (1980) and Clarke & MacLeod (1982) recognised ancistrocheirin squid in the diets of sperm whales from south-western Australia and the Tasman Sea, respectively. At least eight species were recorded by Brandt (1983) from an East Australian Current warm-core eddy. Lu & Phillips (1985) recorded species from the Tasman Sea and the North West Shelf of Western Australia.

The ancistrocheirid life history is incompletely known. In slope waters off New South Wales in the summer months, mature female Ancistrocheirus lesueurii have been recovered from the stomachs of sharks (Dunning et al. 1993)); presumably the egg masses are spawned on the slope. Ripe eggs in mature Ancistrocheirus are large, reaching 3 mm in long axis (Dunning, unpublished data). Paralarvae are unknown.

Diagnosis

Ancistrocheirids are characterised by a simple, straight funnel locking apparatus, biserial hooks present on all arms, and tentacular club with biserial hooks but without suckers. Buccal connectives attach to the dorsal border of the ventral arms and regularly spaced large, bead-like photophores are present in adults on the ventral and lateral surfaces of the mantle, head, arms and tentacles but not on the eyeballs and viscera. The large fins are subterminal, with slightly convex posterior margins extending almost the entire length of the mantle and without posterior lobes. Nidamental glands are present in females. Hectocotylisation is shown as enlarged protective membranes distally on the edges of the hook-bearing surface of the ventral arms of mature males.

General References

Brandt, S.B. 1983. Pelagic squid associations with a warm-core eddy of the East Australian Current. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 34: 573-585

Clarke, M.R. 1980. Cephalopoda in the diet of sperm whales of the southern hemisphere and their bearing on sperm whale ecology. Discovery Reports 37: 1-324

Clarke, M.R. 1988. Classification of the genera of recent cephalopods. pp. 4-7 in Clarke, M.R. & Trueman, E.R. (eds). Paleontology and Neontology of Cephalopods. The Mollusca. Vol. 12. San Diego; London : Academic Press.

Clarke, M.R. & MacLeod, N. 1982. Cephalopod remains from the stomachs of sperm whales caught in the Tasman Sea. Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne 43: 25-42

Dunning, M.C., Clarke, M.R. & Lu, C.C. 1993. Cephalopods in the diet of oceanic sharks caught off eastern Australia. pp. 119-131 in Okutani, T., O'Dor, R.K. & Kubodera, T. (eds). Recent Advances in Cephalopod Fisheries Biology. Tokyo : Tokai University Press.

Lu, C.C. & Phillips, J.U. 1985. An annotated checklist of Cephalopoda from Australian waters. Occasional Papers of the Museum of Victoria 2: 21-36

Roper, C.F.E. & Jereb, P. 2010. Family Ancistrocheiridae. pp. 118-120 in Jereb, P. & Roper, C.F.E. (Eds). Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 4. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 pp. 1-605. [118] (diagnostic features)

Common Name References

Roper, C.F.E. & Jereb, P. 2010. Family Ancistrocheiridae. pp. 118-120 in Jereb, P. & Roper, C.F.E. (Eds). Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of species known to date. Volume 2. Myopsid and Oegopsid Squids. FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes. No. 4. Rome : FAO Vol. 2 pp. 1-605. [118] (Sharpear Enope Squid)

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