Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 49(1): 149-157 (1988)
ISSN 0814-1827
TODARODES PACIFICUS PUSILLUS NEW SUBSPECIES (CEPHALOPODA:
OMMASTREPHIDAE) FROM NORTHERN AUSTRALIA
By Malcolm Dunning
Maritime Estate Management Branch, Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service,
PO Box 190, North Quay, Qld 4002, Australia
Abstract
Dunning, M., 1988. Todarodes pacificus pusillus new subspecies (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephi-
dae) from northern Australia. Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria 49: 149-157
A new squid subspecies, Todarodes pacificus pusillus, is described from northern Australian
continental shelf and upper slope waters on the basis of morphological differences and appar-
ent geographic isolation from northern hemisphere populations of T. pacificus Steenstrup, 1880.
Basic life history information is presented. The subspecies reaches maturity at less than 80 mm
mantle length compared with greater than 200 mm ML for T. pacificus from Japanese waters.
Introduction
Seven species of arrow squid of the oegopsid fa-
mily Ommastrephidae have been recorded from
waters around Australia (Lu and Dunning, 1982).
Small numbers of a previously unrecorded form
were collected recently during research and explora-
tory fishing surveys in northern Australian waters.
The specimens showed the general characters of the
genus Todarodes Steenstrup, 1880, i.e., presence
of simple foveola in the funnel groove with no side
pockets, quadriserial suckers on the dactylus of the
tentacular club, absence of light organs and hec-
tocotylization of only the distal portion of the right
ventral arm in males.
Three nominal species assigned to the genus
Todarodes have been recorded from the Indo-
Pacific region. T. pacificus Steenstrup, 1880 gener-
ally is considered to be restricted to waters adja-
cent to Japan (Okutani, 1980), T. angolensis
Adam, 1962 occurs in oceanic and continental slope
waters of the southern Tasman Sea and around
South Africa (Dunning, unpublished data; Roper
et al., 1984) and T. filippovae Adam, 1975 is abun-
dant south of the Subtropical Convergence in the
Indian and South Pacific Oceans (Dunning and
Brandt, 1985).
Most measurements, indices and abbreviations
follow Wbrmuth (1976). Counts of arm suckers
were made using a binocular dissecting microscope
and indices are expressed as a percentage of dor-
sal mantle length (ML) unless otherwise specified.
Measurements of spermatophores are as defined
by Roper and Voss (1983). Interpretation of ten-
tacular club structure follows Roeleveld (1982) and
the criteria described in Dunning and Brandt (1985)
were used to assess reproductive condition. Type
material is in the Museum of Victoria, Melbourne
(NMV), Queensland Museum, Brisbane (QM), and
the National Science Museum, Tokyo (NSMT).
Ommastrephidae Steenstrup, 1857
Todarodes Steenstrup, 1880
Type species. Todarodes pacificus Steenstrup,
1880.
Todarodes pacificus pusillus subsp. no v.
Figures 1, 2
Material examined. Holotype: Timor Sea (13°48'S,
124° 19F), bottom trawl in 102m, RV "Hai-Kung", 28 Mar
1981, NMV F31571 (male, ML 65 mm).
Paratypes: Timor Sea (8°53'S, 135°12'E), bottom trawl
in 78 m,FRV "Soela", 27 Jun 1981, NMV F31569 (female,
ML 64 mm); (9°52'S, 129°12'E), bottom trawl in 138 m,
FRV "Soela", 9 Jul 1980, NMV F31570 (female, ML 64
mm).
Coral Sea (17°46.2'S, 146°50.2'E), FRV "Soela", 30 Nov
1985, QM Mol6359 (male, ML 68 mm); (17°16.1'S,
146°41 .5'E), bottom trawl in 250 m, FRV "Soela", 1 Dec
1985, QM Mol6358 (female, ML 74 mm).
North-west Shelf (19°04'S, 118°57'E), bottom trawl in
82 m, FRV "Soela", 29 Aug 1983, QM Mol6357(male,
ML 53 mm); (19°31'S, 116°02'E), bottom trawl in 130
m, FRV "Soela", 13 Oct 1983, NSMT Mo66640 (male,
ML 53 mm); (19°31'S, 116°02'E), bottom trawl in 130
m, FRV "Soela", 13 Oct 1983, NSMT Mo66641(female,
ML 61 mm).
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