Psychroteuthis glacialis, the glacial squid, is the only known species in the monotypic genus Psychroteuthis, in the family Psychroteuthidae. While only one species has been confirmed, two undescribed species also probably exist.[citation needed] The species occurs in coastal waters near Antarctica and South America. It grows to a mantle length of 44 cm (1.44 ft).[3]
| Glacial squid | |
|---|---|
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| Psychroteuthis glacialis paralarva (<2 cm ML) from the Ross Sea of Antarctica | |
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| Another view of the same specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Family: | Psychroteuthidae Thiele, 1920 |
| Genus: | Psychroteuthis Thiele, 1920 |
| Species: | P. glacialis |
| Binomial name | |
| Psychroteuthis glacialis | |
Ecology
P. glacialis is known to feed on many crustaceans, fish, lanternfish, Antarctic krill, and Antarctic silverfish, and has been known to practice cannibalism.[4] Animals known to routinely feed on glacial squid include the Antarctic petrel, light-mantled albatross, Ross seal, southern elephant seal, Weddell seal, Patagonian toothfish, wandering albatross, grey-headed albatross, the Adélie penguin, and the emperor penguin.[5]
Distribution
The squid inhabits the pelagic zone in subtropical regions. It is found in depths of 300–1,000 m (980–3,280 ft).[6]
References
External links
- "CephBase: Psychroteuthis glacialis". Archived from the original on 2005-08-17.
- Tree of Life web project: Psychroteuthis glacialis