Pyroteuthidae | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Mollusca |
Class: | Cephalopoda |
Order: | Oegopsida |
Superfamily: | Enoploteuthoidea |
Family: | Pyroteuthidae Pfeffer, 1912 |
Type genus | |
Pyroteuthis | |
Genera | |
Pyroteuthidae (the fire squids) is a family of squids. The family comprises two genera. Species are diurnally mesopelagic, migrating into surface waters during the night. The family is characterised by the tentacles, which have a permanent constriction and bend near the base; and photophores occurring on the tentacles, eyeballs, and viscera. Members reach mantle lengths of 23–50 mm. Paralarvae of the family are common around the Hawaiian Islands, with up to 17% of collected specimens in the area belonging to Pyroteuthidae.[2]