Overview
Distribution
Geographic Range
Argonauta nodosa lives in all the different oceans and seas with a warm, tropical climate. However, it is most abundant in the South Australian waters. (Wu 1989;Hall 1997; Mangold and Young 1996)
Biogeographic Regions: indian ocean (Native ); atlantic ocean (Native ); pacific ocean (Native )
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Distribution
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UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=1318
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Branch, G.M. et al. (2002). Two Oceans. 5th impression. David Philip, Cate Town & Johannesburg.
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=6561
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Gordon, D. (Ed.) (2009). New Zealand Inventory of Biodiversity. Volume One: Kingdom Animalia. 584 pp
http://www.marinespecies.org/porifera/porifera.php?p=sourcedetails&id=145244
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Source:
World Register of Marine Species
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Physical Description
Morphology
Physical Description
Argonauta nodosa is closely related to the octopus. It has eight tentacles with suckers on them. It has a closed circulatory system. It moves by using a siphon to pump water, pushing it forward. Like the octopus, it has the ability to shoot ink made by an ink gland in the intestine. Argonauta nodosa has many different shades of color, since it is able to change color to match its environment.
Male and Female Argonauta nodosa show sexual dimorphism. The male is much smaller than the female. The female size is about 30 cm in length, and the male size is about 3 in length. The female also makes a shell, which the male does not create.
The shell of the female is 12-15 cm on average. The dorsal arms of the female both have a large flap, which are enlarged membranes. These membranes have glands that secret the calcareous shell. Each arm makes half of the shell, creating a double keel where each side meets. The shell has rows of knobs on the keel, which are called tubercules. The tubercules can be many different colors, such as brown or purple. The shell itself is usually transparent and flexible. In the Argonauta nodosa the keel is wider than in the Argonauta argo, the more common nuatilus, and it's nodules are stouter and spaced farther apart. The flaps on the arms also cover the shell like a web. The shell is not connected to the Paper Nautilus by any type of muscle, but is supported by the dorsal arms of the female.
The male Argonauta nodosa displays a long tentacle called the hectocotylus. This extended arm is absent in the female. The hectocotylus contains spermatophore, and is used for reproduction. Each season a new hectocotylus is formed.
(Wu 1989; Mangold and Young 1996; Hall 1997; Grzimek 1972; Alling 1996; Lorimer 1995; Lorimer 1996)
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Ecology
Habitat
Habitat
Argonauta nodosa prefers to live near the surface level in the open-ocean, which has lower temperatures and fewer predators than a gulf. Pelagic.
(Hall 1997; Wu 1989)
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Habitat
-
UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms
http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=sourcedetails&id=1318
© WoRMS for SMEBD
Source:
World Register of Marine Species
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Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 5 samples.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 0 - 459
Temperature range (°C): 6.409 - 9.427
Nitrate (umol/L): 18.611 - 22.082
Salinity (PPS): 34.440 - 34.718
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.515 - 4.698
Phosphate (umol/l): 1.636 - 1.900
Silicate (umol/l): 15.034 - 18.665
Graphical representation
Depth range (m): 0 - 459
Temperature range (°C): 6.409 - 9.427
Nitrate (umol/L): 18.611 - 22.082
Salinity (PPS): 34.440 - 34.718
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.515 - 4.698
Phosphate (umol/l): 1.636 - 1.900
Silicate (umol/l): 15.034 - 18.665
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Trophic Strategy
Food Habits
The Argonauta nodosa eats crayfish, crabs, and other types of bivalves.
(Grzimek 1972)
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Life History and Behavior
Reproduction
Reproduction
Reproduction of the Argonauta nodosa is sexual, and fertilization is internal. A male is ready for reproduction when the hectocotylus is fully developed. At this time the hectocotylus, which develops in a sac, breaks out of the sac and is exposed. The hectocotylus is a specialized, extended tentacle used to store spermatophore, the male gamete. The male transfers the spermatophores to the female by putting it's hectocotylus into a cavity in the mantle of the female. This mantle cavity is known as the pallial cavity. This is the only contact the male and female have with each other during copulation, and it can be at a distance. During copulation, the hectocotylus breaks off the male. The funnel-mantle locking apparatus on the hectocotylus keeps it lodged in the pallial cavity of the female. This helps to ensure the fertilization of the female. In addition, the spermatophore remains active for a long time to help ensure fertilization. The female Argonauta nodosa is only able to mate once in her lifetime, whereas the male is able to reproduce multiple times. After fertilization, the female deposits the eggs into the "brood chamber," which is her shell. In the brood chamber, the eggs develop until they are ready to enter the open ocean.
(Wu 1989; Grzimek 1972; Rosenblum 1995; Alling 1996)
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Molecular Biology and Genetics
Molecular Biology
Barcode data: Argonauta nodosa
There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank. Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species. See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen. Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.
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Download FASTA File
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Statistics of barcoding coverage: Argonauta nodosa
Public Records: 1
Species: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1
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Conservation
Conservation Status
Conservation Status
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: no special status
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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
Benefits
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no adverse affects to humans.
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Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Argonauta nodosa shells are fairly rare, and they are prized by shell collectors. People make money from the sale of the shells of this species.
(Hall 1997)
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Wikipedia
Argonauta nodosa
Argonauta nodosa, also known as the knobby or knobbed argonaut, is a species of pelagic octopus. The female of the species, like all argonauts, creates a paper-thin eggcase that coils around the octopus much like the way a nautilus lives in its shell (hence the name paper nautilus). The shell is usually approximately 150 mm in length, although it can exceed 250 mm in exceptional specimens; the world record size is 292.0 mm.[1] A. nodosa produces a very characteristic shell, which is covered in many small nodules on the ridges across the shell, hence the specific epithet nodosa and common name. These nodules are less obvious or even absent in juvenile females, especially those under 5 cm in length.[2] All other argonaut species have smooth ridges across the shell walls.[2]
A. nodosa has a relatively wide distribution covering the Indo-Pacific region as well as the eastern coast of South America. The species is most common in southern Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.[2] It is only known from the Southern Hemisphere.[3]
A. nodosa is thought to feed primarily on pelagic molluscs. Captive females have been observed readily taking dead prawns and fish.[2] The species is preyed on by numerous predators. It has been reported in the stomach contents of Alepisaurus ferox from the south-western Pacific.[4] A. nodosa has also been found in the stomach contents of Australian Fur Seals, Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus, in the Bass Strait and southern Tasmania.[5]
Females grow to 100 mm ML and 300 mm total length, while males do not exceed 40 mm in length.[2] The specialised webbed arm pair of this species is covered in numerous chromatophores. Mark Norman notes that "the colour of these webs can quickly change from maroon red to reflective silver".[2]
It has been reported that the egg clusters of A. nodosa from southern Australia can be clearly divided into three portions, each with eggs at a similar developmental stage.[6] Similar development has been observed in the egg masses of Argonauta bottgeri.[7]
A. nodosa is occasionally involved in mass strandings along the South African and southern Australian coastlines. The strandings are seasonal and generally occur between April and August, towards the end of the animals' spawning season.
The type specimen of A. nodosa was collected off the Cape of Good Hope. The type repository is unknown.[8]
Female A. nodosa with eggcase removed
Female A. nodosa with eggcase present
References
- ^ Pisor, D. L. (2005). Registry of World Record Size Shells (4th ed.). Snail's Pace Productions and ConchBooks. p. 12.
- ^ a b c d e f Norman, M. (2000). Cephalopods: A World Guide. ConchBooks. p. 192.
- ^ Lu, C. C.. "Argonautidae". Australian Biological Resources Study. http://www.deh.gov.au/cgi-bin/abrs/fauna/details.pl?pstrVol=CEPHALOPODA;pstrTaxa=89;pstrChecklistMode=2. Retrieved 2006-09-13.
- ^ (French) Rancurel, P. (1970). "Les contenus stomacaux d' Alepisaurus ferox dans le sud-ouest Pacifique (Céphalopodes)". Cah. O.R.S.T.O.M. Ser. Océanogr. 8 (4): 4–87.
- ^ Gales, R., D. Pemberton, C. C. Lu & M. Clarke (1994). "The cephalopod diet of the Australian fur seal: variation due to location, season and sample type". Aust. J. Mar. Freshwater Res. 44: 657–671. doi:10.1071/MF9930657.
- ^ Reid, A. (1989). "Argonauts: ancient mariners in boats of shell". Aust. Nat. Hist. 22 (12): 580–587.
- ^ Nesis, K. N. (1977). "The biology of paper nautiluses, Argonauta boettgeri and A. hians (Cephalopoda, Octopoda), in the western Pacific and the seas of the East Indian Archipelago". Zool. Zh. 56: 1004–1014.
- ^ Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda
- Sweeney, M. J. (2002). Taxa Associated with the Family Argonautidae Tryon, 1879. Tree of Life web project.
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