Slosarczykovia circumantarctica
Described by Marek Lipisnki
Page authors: Marek Lipinski, Austin Horenkamp
Slosarczykovia circumantarctica is a large brachioteuthid endemic to the Southern Ocean; the largest documented individual was ~182mm ML (Guerra et al., 2011). While this species is one of the more common oegopsid squid species from the Southern Ocean, the systematic status of this taxon requires further review (Jereb & Roper, 2010).
The major distinction between this taxon and others it the presence of a fibrous reticulate net on the fins, mantle, head, and arms of both sexes >60mm ML (Lipinski, 2001).
Body
- Mantle, fins, head, and arms covered in a fibrous integumental net @60mm ML and greater.
- Muscular body
Eyes
- Luminous tissue covering the ventral part of the eye.
- Eyes rounded
Arms
- Arms Short (between 30-50%ML)
- Arm formula II>III>IV>I
- No sucker enlargement or modification detected on arms IV in males.
Tentacles
- Tentacles short, clubs long.
- Carpal-locking apparatus absent; however, 13 individual "carpal" suckers form a single series along the dorsal margin of the manus, with no complementary knobs.
- Regions of the club not clearly differentiated.
Slosarczykovia circumantarctica is monotypic.
Slosarczykovia circumantarctica is endemic to the Southern Ocean.
Type locality: Opposite of Wilkes Land Antarctica.
Origin of Slosarczykovia circumantarctica holotype Lipinski (2001)
Epidermis: The fins, mantle, head, and arms are covered in a reticulate integumentary net that is present on both sexes. No tubercles on the mantle of maturing males or females.
Mantle: The mantle is long and relatively slender (mantle width ~19-21 mm mantle length (ML)).
Fins: The fins are rhomboidal, with wider fins than they are long (fin length index ~40% ML, fin width index ~55% ML).
Arms: Arms are short, with males having slightly longer arms in comparison to the mantle length. Arm formula is II>III>IV>I. In females, the sucker rings of arms I-IV are smooth, while males sometimes have 1-4 teeth on arms I-IV. In mature males, there is no presence or sucker enlargement and/or modification.
Oral view of the sucker ring of a large arm sucker of S. circumantarctica. Photograph by R. Young.
Tentacle: Tentacles are short (tentacle length index ~75% ML) with a long club (club index ~33% ML). Sections of the club are weakly differentiated. Despite carpal suckers being present, there are no adjoining knobs, suggesting that Slosarczykovia lacks a carpal fixing apparatus. The widest section of the club has approximately 10 series of sparsely distributed suckers. The diameter of the largest suckers on the proximal manus are only 1/3rd larger than those of the largest manus suckers.
Oral view of the tentacular club of S. circumantarctica. Drawing from Lipinski (2001)
Oral view of a damaged tentacular club of S. circumantarctica, preserved, male, 66 mm ML. Arrows point to the small "carpal" suckers. Photograph by R. Young.
Gladius:
Slosarczykovia circumantarctica gladius drawn by Marek Lipinski.
Slosarczykovia circumantarctica are a common prey item for many large mammals, sea birds, and fish (see table below for known predator list).
| Predator | Citation |
| Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella) | Abreu et al., 2019 |
| Southern elephant seal (Mirounga leonina) | Van den Hoff 2004 |
| Southern bottlenose whale (Hyperoodon planifrons) | Cherel & Duhamel 2004 |
| Southern long-finned pilot whale (Globicephala melas edwardii) | Cherel, Arkhipkin, and Shcherbich 2026 |
| Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) | Cherel et al., 2004 |
| Southern lanternshark (Etmopterus cf. granulosus) | Cherel & Duhamel 2004 |
| Antarctic starry skate (Amblyraja georgiana) | Main & Collins, 2011 |
| Black-browed albatross (Diomedia melanophrys) | Cherel & Duhamel, 2004 |
| Wandering albatross (Diomedia exulans) | Cherel et al., 2017 |
| White-chinned petrels (Procellaria aequinoctialis) | Connan et al., 2007 |
| Gentoo penguin (Pygoscelis papau) | Xavier et al., 2018 |
| Emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) | Cherel 2008 |
| Prey | Citation |
| Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) | Kear 1992* |
Behavior: Recent footage from Schmidt Ocean Institute has captured Slosarczykovia changing between white to red colors Slosarczykovia changing colors.
Taxonomy and etymology: This species was first discovered by Marek Lipinski in 2001. Slosarczykovia circumantarctica was named after Dr Wieslaw Slosarczyk who collected all the material from Antarctic waters. The taxonomic status of this species has yet to be reviewed.
Conservation status and threats:
As of April 2010, Slosarczykovia circumantarctica is listed as of least concern by the IUCN Red List. While the impacts of climate change remain unknown, there are thoughts that there will be a decrease in habitat suitability for S. circumantarctica (Guerreiro, 2025).
* Listed as B. picta, but likely represents Slosarczykovia circumantarctica
Abreu, J., Staniland, I., Rodrigues, C. F., Queirós, J. P., Pereira, J. M., & Xavier, J. C. (2019). Squid in the diet of Antarctic fur seals: potential links to oceanographic conditions and Antarctic krill abundance. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 628, 211-221.
Cherel, Y. (2008). Isotopic niches of emperor and Adélie penguins in Adélie Land, Antarctica. Marine Biology, 154(5), 813-821.
Cherel, Y., & Duhamel, G. (2004). Antarctic jaws: cephalopod prey of sharks in Kerguelen waters. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 51(1), 17-31.
Cherel, Y., Duhamel, G., & Gasco, N. (2004). Cephalopod fauna of subantarctic islands: new information from predators. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 266, 143-156.
Cherel, Y., Xavier, J. C., De Grissac, S., Trouvé, C., & Weimerskirch, H. (2017). Feeding ecology, isotopic niche, and ingestion of fishery-related items of the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans at Kerguelen and Crozet Islands. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 565, 197-215.
Connan, M., Cherel, Y., Mabille, G., & Mayzaud, P. (2007). Trophic relationships of white-chinned petrels from Crozet Islands: combined stomach oil and conventional dietary analyses. Marine Biology, 152(1), 95-107.
Guerra, Á., Portela, J. M., & del Río, J. L. (2011). Cephalopods caught in the outer Patagonian shelf and its upper and medium slope in relation to the main oceanographic features. Fisheries research, 109(1), 179-186.
Guerreiro, M. F., Santos, C. P., Borges, F. O., Santos, C. F., Xavier, J. C., & Rosa, R. (2025). Projecting future climate change impacts on the distribution of pelagic squid in the Southern Ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 757, 85-98.
Jereb, P., & Roper, C. F. (2010). Cephalopods of the world-an annotated and illustrated catalogue of cephalopod species known to date. Vol 2. Myopsid and oegopsid squids (No. 2). Fao.
Lipinski, M. R. (2001). Preliminary description of two new species of cephalopods (Cephalopoda: Brachioteuthidae) from South Atlantic and Antarctic waters. Bulletin of the Sea Fisheries Institute, 1(152), 3-14.
Main, C. E., & Collins, M. A. (2011). Diet of the Antarctic starry skate Amblyraja georgiana (Rajidae, Chondrichthyes) at South Georgia (Southern Ocean). Polar Biology, 34(3), 389-396.
van den Hoff, J. (2004). A comparative study of the cephalopod prey of Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) and southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) near Macquarie Island. Polar Biology, 27(10), 604-612.
Xavier, J. C., Velez, N., Trathan, P. N., Cherel, Y., De Broyer, C., Cánovas, F., ... & Tarling, G. A. (2018). Seasonal prey switching in non-breeding gentoo penguins related to a wintertime environmental anomaly around South Georgia. Polar Biology, 41(11), 2323-2335.
Taxonomy
- Class
- Cephalopoda
- Superorder
- Decapodiformes
- Order
- Oegopsida
- Superfamily
- Cycloteuthoidea
- Family
- Brachioteuthidae
- Genus
- Slosarczykovia