Cephalopod classification and taxonomy

Venkatesan, V and Mohamed, K S (2015) Cephalopod classification and taxonomy. [Teaching Resource]

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Abstract

Chambered nautilus, cuttlefishes, squids and octopus are the four major groups of cephalopods, which belong to the highly evolved class of phylum Mollusca. Cephalopods are the third largest molluscan class after bivalves and gastropods and consist of more than 800 species (Lindgren et al. 2004). The fossil record contains about 17,000 named species of cephalopods. Although the diversity of cephalopods is very much reduced in the modern era, cephalopods are found to occur in all the oceans of the world from the tropics to the polar seas and at all depths ranging from the surface to below 5000m. Cephalopods were dominant predators millions of years before fish appeared. The earliest cephalopods were primitive shelled nautiloids which evolved in the Late Cambrian period. The living cephalopods range in size from 25mm (Southern pygmy squid, Idiosepius notoides) to more than 12m (Colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) in length.

Item Type:	Teaching Resource
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Cephalopod classification; Cephalopod taxonomy
Subjects:	Molluscan Fisheries > Cephalopods Marine Ecosystems > Coral Reefs > Taxonomy
Divisions:	CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division Subject Area > CMFRI > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division Subject Area > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Molluscan Fisheries Division
Depositing User:	Arun Surendran
Date Deposited:	23 Jun 2015 06:01
Last Modified:	09 Sep 2015 16:01
URI:	http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/id/eprint/10414

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