Warning, super-esoteric: stumped on onychoteuthid mating behavior

Hey guys, sorry for floating this thread and then apparently abandoning it. I am still puzzling this out, and have been corresponding with a few other ceph-heads about it. The latest development is that Dick Young was in Bergen, where he examined the Type of Chaunoteuthis mollis, and took the attached photo for me of... the same kind of implanted spermatophores! (Actually, spermatangia - and thanks for posting that animation, that was very cool.) C. mollis appears to be a spent Onychoteuthis, but we don't know what species yet - tentacles are lost of course, so the beaks need examining.

I like the theory about the sperm being released through (or creating) the external bulb-like structures, especially since the implanted spermatangia in the male O. meridiopacifica don't have this structure, and wouldn't have released the sperm.
 

Attachments

  • conv_289687.jpg
    conv_289687.jpg
    102.3 KB · Views: 159
Steve O'Shea;80209 said:
Rush me to the ER is you ever see anything like that on me!!

It looks like something a New Zealand'r would eat for breakfast!
 

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top