Pacific Argonaut

Taxobox
name = Pacific Argonaut


image_caption = "Argonauta pacifica" eggcase, Baja California.
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Mollusca
classis = Cephalopoda
ordo = Octopoda
familia = Argonautidae
genus = "Argonauta"
species = "A. pacifica"
binomial = "Argonauta pacifica"
binomial_authority = Dall, 1871
synonyms =
*"Argonauta pacifica nom. nud."
Dall, 1869

The Pacific Argonaut ("Argonauta pacifica") 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 200 mm in exceptional specimens; the world record size is 220.0 mm. [cite book | author = Pisor, D. L. | year = 2005 | title = Registry of World Record Size Shells | edition = 4th edition | publisher = Snail's Pace Productions and ConchBooks | pages = p. 12]

"A. pacifica" seems to have a relatively limited distribution, being confined to the waters surrounding western Mexico, and in particular the Gulf of California. For this reason, it is considered one of the rarest of the "Argonauta" species, along with "A. cornuta" and "A. nouryi".

The taxonomic status of this species questionable. Further research is needed to determine whether it is a valid species or a synonym of another taxon.

The type specimen of "A. pacifica" was collected off the coast of California and is deposited at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.. [ [http://www.mnh.si.edu/cephs/newclass.pdf Current Classification of Recent Cephalopoda] ]

References

* Sweeney, M. J. (2002). [http://www.tolweb.org/accessory/Argonautidae_Taxa?acc_id=2464 Taxa Associated with the Family Argonautidae Tryon, 1879.] "Tree of Life web project".

External links

* [http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Argonauta Information on the genus "Argonauta"]