![]() However, they did all have large fins, and were therefore named "magna pinna", meaning "big fin". The genus was described from two juveniles and paralarva, none of which had developed the characteristic long arm tips. A was described as Magnapinna atlantica in 2006. ![]() ![]() A single specimen of a fifth species, Magnapinna sp. Of particular interest was the very large fin size, up to 90% of the mantle length, that was responsible for the animals' common name. Researchers Michael Vecchione and Richard Young were the chief investigators of the finds, and eventually linked them to the two previous specimens, erecting the family Magnapinnidae in 1998, with Magnapinna pacifica as the type species. A), and three more were found in the Pacific (Magnapinna pacifica). During the 1980s, two additional immature specimens were found in the Atlantic (Magnapinna sp. (1956): The Open Sea: Its Natural History. The specimen was illustrated in Alister Hardy's The Open Sea (1956), where it was identified as Octopodoteuthopsis.Hardy, A.C. C) was caught in the South Atlantic, but little was thought of it at the time. Due to the damaged nature of the find, little information could be discerned, and it was classified as a mastigoteuthid, first as Chiroteuthopsis talismani and later as Mastigoteuthis talismani. The first record of this family comes from a specimen (Magnapinna talismani) caught off the Azores in 1907. Alternatively, they may simply use a trapping technique, waiting passively for prey such as zooplankton, to bump into their arms (see Cephalopod intelligence). Scientists have speculated that bigfin squid feed by dragging their arms and tentacles along the seafloor and grabbing edible organisms from the floor. While they do appear similar to the larvae, no specimens or samples of the adults have been taken, leaving their exact identity unknown.įeeding-behaviour Little is known about the feeding-behaviour of these squid. Viewing close-ups of the body and head, it is apparent that the fins are extremely large, being proportionately nearly as big as those of bigfin squid larvae. (2003): Deep-Sea Cephalopods: An Introduction and Overview. Estimates based on video evidence put the total length of the largest specimens at 8 m or more.Bolstad, K. Most remarkable was the length of the elastic tentacles, which has been estimated at up to 15-20 times the mantle length. The appendages were also held perpendicular to the body, creating the appearance of strange "elbows". Uniquely among cephalopods, the arms and tentacles were of the same length and looked identical (similar to extinct belemnites). The specimens in the videos looked very distinct from all previously known squids.
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