Antarctic octopus
| Antarctic octopus | ||||||||||||
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Pareledone charcoti, 1914 |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pareledone charcoti | ||||||||||||
| ( Joubin , 1905) |
The Antarctic warthog ( Pareledone charcoti ) is a cephalopod from the genus Pareledone . He lives in Antarctica . Louis Joubin first described the species in 1905 .
features
anatomy
The Antarctic warthog has a mantle length of 65 millimeters and reaches a total length of 21 centimeters. The coat has a round to spherical shape.
The tentacles reach 1.5 to 2.3 times the length of the mantle. They vary in length, with the dorsal arms usually being the shortest. There are a number of suction cups on each arm . Larger animals have 37 to 54 suction cups per tentacle. There are no enlarged suction cups. In male animals, the third right arm forms the hectocotylus . This reaches 88 to 92% of the length of a normal arm. The ligula sits at the top . This is of firm structure and has a spoon-shaped appearance. It is five to nine percent of an arm's length. The calamus is long and reaches 35 to 67% of the ligular length. The Hectocotylus has only 31 to 38 suction cups.
The webbing is well developed and covers up to 45% of the arm's length at the deepest point. The gills have seven to eight lamellae per demibranch . The funnel organ has a double V shape. The radula consists of nine elements, seven rows of teeth and edge plates.
Appearance
Resting animals have an even pink-brown hue. The Antarctic warthog has a transverse white, bar-shaped spot on its head. There are white spots on the medial upper arms, crown, and in the center of the back of the mantle. When the octopus is on alert, it turns dark purple to brown. In the ventral area, the animal takes on a creamy white color. Like all real octopuses, he can adapt his skin color to any surface in his environment. This camouflage is based on a combination of different chromatophores and a change in the texture of the skin. False eyespots ( ocelles ) are not found in Pareledone charcoti .
The skin surface is rough and almost everywhere has regularly arranged, wart-shaped structures, called papillae. The ventral surface of the mantle is smooth. There are occasionally larger papillae over each eye. There is a skin ridge around the side edge of the coat.
Cold protection
The Antarctic warthog has the highest concentration of hemocyanin in its blood compared to other species . Comparative tests have shown that the species has at least 40% more blood pigment than other species and exceeds all previously known peak values of the order Octopoda . This high blood pigment concentration could compensate for the inability of hemocyanin to dissolve oxygen in the tissue in cold environments and thus help to ensure an adequate supply of oxygen. This substance is also responsible for making the blood appear blue.
Way of life
habitat
Pareledone charcoti lives in the waters of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the Antarctic at depths between 100 and 700 meters below sea level on the Antarctic continental shelf in a temperature range of −1.6 to −2.1 ° C.
The preferred subsoil is mud and sand substrates made of gravel and rocks. The species hides under sponges , gorgonians and bog animals .
Reproduction
The males of Pareledone charcoti produce long spermatophores . These reach 1.6 times the length of the jacket. The spermatophores are transferred to the female with a special tentacle, the hectocotylus. The eggs are 11-14 millimeters long and reach 18-24% of the mantle length.
Individual evidence
- ^ World Register of Marine Species
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Cephalopods of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalog of cephalopod species known to date (p. 85)
- ↑ Skin as superreflectors
- ↑ Octopodidae - Article at Tree of Life
- ↑ How Antarctic Octopus Pareledone charcoti Survives Extreme Temperatures
- ↑ Blue blood from the cold