Histioteuthis
Genus of cephalopods known as cock-eyed squids
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Histioteuthis is a genus of squid in the family Histioteuthidae. It goes by the common name cock-eyed squid, because in all species the right eye is normal-sized, round, blue and sunken; whereas the left eye is at least twice the diameter of the right eye, tubular, yellow-green, faces upward, and bulges out of the head.
| Histioteuthis | |
|---|---|
| |
| A member of the genus Histioteuthis. Eye asymmetry is observable. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Oegopsida |
| Family: | Histioteuthidae |
| Genus: | Histioteuthis Orbigny, 1841[1] |
| Type species | |
| Cranchia bonnellii Férussac, 1834 | |
| Species | |
|
17 species and subspecies, see text | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
In 2017, researchers at Duke University established that Histioteuthis uses its larger eye to see ambient sunlight, and its smaller eye to detect bioluminescence from prey animals.[2]
The name is composed of the Greek histion (ἱστίον, "sail", a large webbed membrane between six of the arms, in some species) and teuthis ("squid").[3][4]
The genus contains bioluminescent species.[5]
Species
- H. bonnellii species-group
- Histioteuthis bonnellii, umbrella squid
- Histioteuthis macrohista
- H. reversa species-group
- Histioteuthis eltaninae
- Histioteuthis atlantica
- Histioteuthis reversa, reverse jewel squid
- H. celetaria species-group
- H. corona species-group
- H. miranda species-group
- H. meleagroteuthis species-group
- Histioteuthis heteropsis, strawberry squid
- Histioteuthis meleagroteuthis
