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Megalocranchia

Bolstad, K. S. R.;Perez, J. A. A.;Strugnell, J. M.;Vidal, E. A. G.

EntityQ3202429· pop 7· linked from 7 articles

Megalocranchia

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Megalocranchia is a genus of glass squids. It occurs circumglobally in tropical and subtropical waters.

Species

Large cranch squid

GENUS

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumMollusca
  3. ClassCephalopoda
  4. OrderOegopsida
  5. FamilyCranchiidae
Habitatmarine

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
208
With media
12
Family
Cranchiidae
Collections
USNM
Recorded in
United States, Bermuda, Venezuela

~1 min read

Encyclopedic overview

3 sections
Contents
  • Description
  • References
  • External links

Megalocranchia is a genus of glass squids. It occurs circumglobally in tropical and subtropical waters.

== Description == Some members of the genus Megalocranchia can reach large sizes, up to 1800mm in the case of M. fisheri. Young paralarvae often resemble other members of the Cranchiidae, having transparent bodies to aid in camouflage. Where the internal organs cannot be made transparent, for example in the digestive system, visceral photophores can be found. These visceral photophores are unique to this genus within the family. The paralarvae also have a thick gelatinous dermis covering the mantle, which again is unique to the Megalocranchia within the family. This dermis also features patches of orange chromatophores in juvenile individuals.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Megalocranchia” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

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