Stoloteuthis Verrill, 1881

Reid, Amanda L., 2021, Two new species of Iridoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae: Heteroteuthinae) from the southwest Pacific, with a redescription of Stoloteuthis maoria (Dell, 1959), Zootaxa 5005 (4), pp. 503-537 : 519

Genus Stoloteuthis Verrill, 1881

Type species. Sepiola leucoptera Verrill, 1878 , type locality, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Maine .

Head/mantle occipital band variable: narrow, wide, or none. Ventral shield present,>80% ventral mantle length (but variable), does not extend anteriorly beyond middle of eyes. Posterior fin lobe rounded. Funnel-locking cartilage a straight groove; mantle-locking cartilage a straight ridge. Visceral photophore oval, flattish ventrally, paired photophore openings teardrop-shaped, broadest anteriorly, located medially on each side of median mantle ligament. Arms 1–3 connected by deep webs that extend at least three quarters of arm length (more extensive than seen in Iridoteuthis ). Arms 1 of males hectocotylised: lateral glands present; arms broad. Males with enlarged suckers on arms 2 (arrangement variable). Arms 4 in males with 3–4 series of suckers at distal tips. Tentacle organ proximal to sucker-bearing face of club, or barely overlapping. Bursa copulatrix absent (after Vecchione & Roper 2014 and this study).