Kingdom Animalia Suborder Myopsina Scientific name Australiteuthis aldrichi Rank Species | Class Cephalopoda Genus Australiteuthis Phylum Mollusca Order Squid | |
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Family Australiteuthidae
Lu, 2005 Similar Squid, Pickfordiateuthis, Cycloteuthidae, Asperoteuthis acanthoderma, Chtenopteryx | ||
Australiteuthis aldrichi is a small species of squid from northern Australian waters. It was described by Chung Cheng Lu in 2005 based on specimens collected in inshore waters of Northern Australia. The largest known individual of this species is a mature female measuring 27.6 mm in mantle length (ML). The holotype is a mature male of 21.3 mm ML. A. aldrichi has never been seen alive. It is the only member of the genus Australiteuthis and the family Australiteuthidae.
A. aldrichi is characterised by several unique morphological features. It has an unusual funnel locking apparatus which contains a boomerang-shaped groove. Its fins are separated from each other and possess posterior lobes. The ink sac contains a dumbbell-shaped photophore.
The species is named after Frederick Allen Aldrich (1927–1991), a prominent teuthologist and former Moses Harvey Professor of Marine Biology at Memorial University of Newfoundland.