Ommastrephinae is a subfamily of squids under the family Ommastrephidae.

Ommastrephinae
Temporal range: Pliocene - recent[1]
A Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) that washed up on a Santa Barbara shoreline
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Family: Ommastrephidae
Subfamily: Ommastrephinae
Posselt, 1891[2]
Type genus
Ommastrephes
d'Orbigny, 1834
Genera

Description

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Ommastrephinae includes the largest species of squids belonging to the family Ommastrephidae, Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) which can grow to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in mantle length (ML).[3] It also contains the smallest squid species belonging to the family, the glass squid (Hyaloteuthis pelagica) which has a mantle length of only up to 9 cm (3.5 in).[4] Ommastrephinae are mostly pelagic members of the family Ommastrephidae. Some species of the subfamily (notably Sthenoteuthis and Ommastrephes) are known for their behavior of leaping out of the water (hence the common name 'flying squid').[5]

Taxonomy

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The name of the subfamily, like the family itself and one of its member genera, Ommastrephes, comes from Greek ὄμμα ('eye') and -strephes ('rolling').[6] They were first described by H.J. Posselt in 1891.

List of genera

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Eight species of squids are recognized under Ommastrephinae, divided among six genera. They are the following:

References

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  1. ^ "Statoliths of Cenozoic teuthoid cephalopods from North America | The Palaeontological Association". www.palass.org. Retrieved 2023-10-09.
  2. ^ "Ommastrephinae Posselt, 1891: Taxonomic Serial No.: 555745". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. January 23, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2011.
  3. ^ Glaubrecht, M. & M.A. Salcedo-Vargas 2004. The Humboldt squid Dosidicus gigas (Orbigny, 1835): History of the Berlin specimen, with a reappraisal of other (bathy-)pelagic gigantic cephalopods (Mollusca, Ommastrephidae, Architeuthidae). Zoosystematics and Evolution 80(1): 53–69.
  4. ^ Nesis, K. N. 1982. Abridged key to the cephalopod mollusks of the world's ocean. 385,ii pp. Light and Food Industry Publishing House, Moscow. (In Russian.). Translated into English by B. S. Levitov, ed. by L. A. Burgess (1987), Cephalopods of the world. T. F. H. Publications, Neptune City, NJ, 351pp.
  5. ^ Ferris Jabr (August 2, 2010). "Fact or Fiction: Can a Squid Fly Out of the Water?". Scientific American. Retrieved January 24, 2011.
  6. ^ Nixon, Marion; Young, John Zachary (2003). The brains and lives of cephalopods. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-852761-6.
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