Galiteuthis glacialis

Galiteuthis glacialis is a species of glass squid from the Antarctic Convergence.[7][8] It is in the cranchiidae family and subfamily taoniinae.[9] They are endemic to the Antarctic and are found in the Southern Ocean, around the Weddell Sea and South Shetland Islands. Galiteuthis glacialis are one of the most plentiful and widely dispersed species of Antarctic squid.[10] These squids are found in the mesopelagic and bathypelagic layers of the open ocean and demonstrate vertical migration. They can reach a maximum mantle length of 500 mm (0.5m).[9]

Galiteuthis glacialis
Ventral view of an adult specimen from the Ross Sea, with a mantle length of 321 mm (12.6 in)
Illustration of paralarvae (left: dorsal view, right: ventral view)

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Oegopsida
Family: Cranchiidae
Genus: Galiteuthis
Species:
G. glacialis
Binomial name
Galiteuthis glacialis
(Chun, 1906)[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Crystalloteuthis glacialis Chun, 1906[4]
  • Galiteuthis aspera Filippova, 1972[5]
  • Teuthowenia antarctica Chun, 1910[6]

Distribution

Galiteuthis glacialis is found predominantly in the Southern Ocean. It occupies the northern and eastern parts of the Weddell Sea, but is less abundant in the Southernmost part. This species prefers the open ocean and steep continental slope of the Eastern Weddell Sea.[9] They are also found around the South Shetland Islands.[11] As G. glacialis matures and its mantle size increases, it moves to deeper water. In its early life stages it is distributed between 300-1000 m. Mature squids are found more commonly below 700 m.[9]

They also show vertical distribution patterns and undergo diurnal vertical migration. Paralarvae and juveniles live in the epipelagic and mesopelagic zones and live at a depth of 300–400 m during the day, migrating to 200–300 m at night. Adolescents and adults live in the lower mesopelagic and bathypelagic zones at depths of 500–2500 m.[10] The upper limit of this species' migration is due to the higher temperature and lower salinity (less than 34.2 parts per thousand) of shallow Antarctic waters.[12] There is also a seasonal vertical distribution pattern in which mature squids prefer to remain below the warmer, less saline surface layer of water in the summer and venture to shallower depths in the fall.[9]

Morphology

Galiteuthis glacialis has a transparent body; mature squids have a gelatinous texture and adolescents have a leathery, muscular texture. Their narrow mantle is covered in sharp tubercles anteriorly and medially. The fin is lancet shaped with its posterior end resembling a short, thin needle. They have a small head and large eyes with two photophores.[10] However in this species, the photophores are not proven to produce light. This squid has a large stomach and small caecum, potentially due to the lack of food sources in deeper water. A larger stomach serves as an energy store of partially digested material that can later be released to the caecum for full digestion, which allows them to retain food during times of scarcity.[12] This species also shows isometric growth of its body parts.[10]

Ecology

This squid is preyed upon by sea birds, marine mammals, and fish. Southern elephant seals prey minimally on G. glacialis and equally on males and females. Likewise, they have been recorded to only prey on adults rather than juveniles.[11] Black-browed albatrosses and grey-headed albatrosses also prefer feeding on adults more than juveniles.[13] However albatrosses are not able to reach the adults because they cannot deep-dive. Tissue degeneration and upwelling bring mature squids up to the surface of the water for predation.[10] Digested parts of G. glacialis have been found in the stomachs of a species of icefish native to the Southern Ocean.[9]

Galiteuthis glacialis are opportunistic feeders and prey upon whatever is available. Their prey are likely mesopelagic zooplankton that feed on sinking organic matter.[14] Though, their common prey are crustaceans, chaetognatha, and fish.[12]

Life cycle

Galiteuthis glacialis paralarvae hatch in the bathypelagic layer and rise passively to the upper layers of the water. Then, they get dispersed in the epipelagic and mostly mesopelagic zones. The onset of maturation begins in the bathypelagic zone, and as the paralarvae mature, they begin to shift vertically (diurnal vertical migration). Females will spawn in the deeper water of the bathypelagic zone and then experience tissue degeneration. The degeneration increases their buoyancy, causing them to float all the way to the surface of the water.[10]

Reproduction

Spawning occurs in deep water where predation is lowest. Females have oval oocytes and males have spermatophores. During copulation the male will grasp the mantle of the female and deposit sperm onto the female's outer dorsal mantle surface. It is hypothesized that the spermatophores dissolve an area of the female's mantle in order to get to the inner mantle surface. This is achieved by a chemical mechanism, most likely enzymatic, and the female could die from bacterial infection of an open wound before spawning can happen.

After successful spawning, females undergo gelatinous tissue degeneration, losing their musculature and experiencing lower hydration and egg spawning. This alters the females' natural buoyancy and forces them to float upwards towards the surface. Males do not undergo degeneration. It is speculated that males die after mating and sink to the seafloor which may explain why mature females are caught in nets much more frequently than mature males, which are rarely caught.[10]

gollark: The annoying thing is that, regardless of whether the mRNA ones *are* actually bad at all, with wide enough deployment someone will get a heart attack or something after getting it due to sheer random chance and people will start complaining.
gollark: I mean, "logically" it shouldn't do awful things, sure, but immunology and biology in general are hellishly complex and unpredictable.
gollark: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ebola-virus-disease says it's 50%ish.
gollark: Hold on, checking.
gollark: I heard the survival rate's better in developed countries, around 60%.

References
  1. Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Galiteuthis glacialis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T163374A1003312. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T163374A1003312.en.
  2. Philippe Bouchet (2018). "Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun, 1906)". World Register of Marine Species. Flanders Marine Institute. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  3. Demetrio Boltovskoy; et al. "Galiteuthis glacialis". Zooplankton of the South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  4. Chun, Carl (1906). "System der Cranchien". Zoologischer Anzeiger. 31 (2–3): 85.
  5. Filippova, J. A. (1972). "New Data on the Squids (Cephalopoda: Oegopsida) from the Scotia Sea (Antarctic)". Malacologia. 11 (2): 400–403.
  6. Chun, Carl; Brauer, August, eds. (1910). "Tentowenia antarctica Chun". Die Cephalopoden. I. Thiel: Oegopsida. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee-Expedition auf dem Dampfer "Valdivia" 1898–1899. 18. Jena: Gustav Fischer. pp. 376–378; Pl. 56, Figs. 1–5; Pl. 57, Figs. 3–7.
  7. "Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun, 1906)". Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved March 17, 2012.
  8. Richard E. Young & Katharina M. Mangold (1922–2003) (2006). "Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun, 1906)". The Tree of Life Web Project. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  9. Piatkowski, Uwe; Hagen, Wilhelm (1994). "Distribution and lipid composition of early life stages of the cranchiid squid Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun) in the Weddell Sea, Antarctica" (PDF). Antarctic Science. 6 (2): 235–239. Bibcode:1994AntSc...6..235P. doi:10.1017/S0954102094000362. ISSN 0954-1020.
  10. Nesis, K. N.; Nigmatullin, Ch. M.; Nikitina, I. V. (February 1998). "Spent females of deepwater squid Galiteuthis glacialis under the ice at the surface of the Weddell Sea (Antarctic)". Journal of Zoology. 244 (2): 185–200. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1998.tb00024.x. ISSN 0952-8369.
  11. Daneri, G. A.; Carlini, A. R.; Marschoff, E. R.; Harrington, A.; Negrete, J.; Mennucci, J. A.; Márquez, M. E. I. (2014-12-18). "The feeding habits of the Southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina, at Isla 25 de Mayo/King George Island, South Shetland Islands". Polar Biology. 38 (5): 665–676. doi:10.1007/s00300-014-1629-0. ISSN 0722-4060.
  12. McSweeny, E. S. (1978), "Systematics and morphology of the Antarctic cranchild squid Galiteuthis glacialis (Chun)", in Pawson, David L. (ed.), Biology of the Antarctic Seas VII, Antarctic Research Series, 27, American Geophysical Union, pp. 1–39, doi:10.1029/ar027p0001, ISBN 9780875901343, retrieved 2019-03-28
  13. Y., Cherel; H., Weimerskirch; C., Trouvé (2002-12-01). "Dietary evidence for spatial foraging segregation in sympatric albatrosses ( Diomedea spp.) rearing chicks at Iles Nuageuses, Kerguelen". Marine Biology. 141 (6): 1117–1129. doi:10.1007/s00227-002-0907-5. ISSN 0025-3162.
  14. Guerreiro, Miguel & Phillips, Richard A & Cherel, Yves & Ceia, Filipe R & Alvito, Pedro & Rosa, Rui & Xavier, José C. 2015. Habitat and trophic ecology of Southern Ocean cephalopods from stable isotope analyses. Marine Ecology Progress Series, published online on June 18, 2015. doi:10.3354/meps11266
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