Todarodes pacificus pusillus new subspecies (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) from northern Australia

Systematics and Biogeography of cephalopods. Volume II

“…Murata et al (1988) found from two to four modal size classes in the region. A similar, complex population structure was evident in summer jig catches from the Tasman Sea (Dunning, 1988), with at least four size classes present in some areas. SIZE, MATURITY, AND REPRODUCTION.-Male O. bartramii reach maturity from 320 mm mantle length (ML) in the southwest Pacific.…”

“…It occurs in the Indian Ocean south to southeastern Africa and Cape Leeuwin off Western Australia. In the South Pacific its distribution extends from the Coral Sea eastward to the Line Islands Nesis, 1977;Dunning, 1988). Adults of Sthenoteuthis oualaniensis occur predominantly in tropical oceanic waters, whereas larvae and juveniles also have been caught on the continental slope and shelf.…”

“…In the southwest Pacific, adult O. bartramii have been caught between 23°42'S and 45°45'S, where surface water temperatures vary from 14.2°C to 25.7°C (Dunning, 1988). In the Atlantic, O. bartramii is more abundant in subtropical surface waters of 14°C to 17°C .…”

“…The smallest female observed with oviducal eggs measured 420 mm ML, whereas the largest female with no eggs in the oviducts was 550 mm ML. An examination of the degree of development of the web on arms III in O. bartramii of both sexes suggests that growth of this structure is correlated with development of reproductive organs (Dunning, 1988). Rancurel (1976a) examined eight mature males (338-385 mm ML), each with spermatophores (approximately 31 mm long) in the Needham's sac, and reported that the oviducts of a 520 mm ML female washed ashore near New Caledonia in the southwest Pacific filled the mantle cavity.…”

First records of Nototodarus hawaiiensis (Berry, 1912) (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae) from northern Australia with a reconsideration of the identity of N. sloani philippinensis (Voss, 1962)

“…Off the eastern Australian coast between 28°S and 32°S, N. hawaiiensis and N. gouldi have been occasionally caught together on the upper continental slope and off the northern Queensland coast, the former species has been caught together with small numbers of T. pacificus pusillus (Dunning, 1988). The latter two species however are more abundant in shallower shelf waters.…”