BATHYPELAGIC SQUID BATHYTEUTHIS 89 



Familial Relationships of the Bathyteuthidae 



Few earlier authors have attempted to establish the relationships of 

 the Bathyteuthidae with other families of the Oegopsida. The Bathy- 

 teuthidae is usually placed in a diverse group that includes the Histio- 

 teuthidae, Brachioteuthidae, Ommastrephidae (e.g., Hoyle, 1885, 1904, 

 etc; Pfeffer, 1900, 1912; Thiele, 1935; Voss, 1956). Chiin (1910) con- 

 cluded that although the buccal connectives are similar to those of the 

 Enoploteuthidae, Histioteuthidae and Ommastrephidae, the nearest 

 relatives of the Bathyteuthidae cannot be given and that the family 

 occupies a truly isolated i^osition in the Oegopsida. Xaef (1916, 1921, 

 1921a, 1922) listed the Bath3i:euthidae at the beginning of the Oegop- 

 sida next to the Myopsida. In his monograph Naef (1923) explained 

 his reasons for considering the Bathyteuthidae primitive : primarily, 

 the unique possession of suckers on the buccal lappets, and the 4-rowed 

 arrangement of suckers on the arms and more than four rows on the 

 club ; secondarily, rhachis incompletely grown over by mantle muscle, 

 fins loosely attached, neck folds weak, etc. Grimpe (1922, 1925) con- 

 curred with Naef 's decision. 



It is not unique for the Bathyteuthidae that familial relationships 

 have yet to be established. Most families of the Oegopsida stand alone 

 in spite of the valuable works of Chun (1910), Pfetfer (1912), and 

 Naef (1923). Familial relationships seem to exist for the Enoploteu- 

 thidae and Lycoteuthidae (Voss, 1962), for Ommastrephidae and 

 Thysanoteuthidae, and for Chiroteuthidae, Mastigoteuthidae, Proma- 

 choteuthidae, and Joubiniteuthidae (see discussions in Eoper and 

 Young, 1968 ; Young and Roper, 1968) . 



The Bathyteuthidae is a distinct family ; but is it more closely related 

 to some families than to others? Several characters are useful at the 

 familial level in the Oegopsida and some of the more important of 

 these have been reviewed by Young and Roper (1968) and by Roper, 

 Young, and Voss (in press) . 



The funnel-mantle locking apparatus is one of the most stable 

 familial characters in the Oegopsida, and it is the primary character 

 that defines some families (e.g., Onnnastrephidae and Thysano- 

 teuthidae). Three types of locking apparatus exist: (1) Mantle and 

 funnel components are separate and simple; a straight ridge on each 

 mantle component locks into a straight, median sulcus on each fun- 

 nel component. Although some variability exists among families in 

 relative dimensions of the apparatus, most oegoi)sid families have 

 the simple type. These include the Enoploteuthidae, Onychoteuthidae, 

 Lycoteuthidae, Architeuthidae, Histioteuthidae, Octopoteuthidae, 

 Batoteuthidae, etc. (2) Mantle and funnel components separate and 

 complex. This category includes the inverted-T and lazy-T locks of the 



