Abraliopsis gilchristi

Abraliopsis gilchristi is a species of enoploteuthid cephalopod found in southern temperate waters of the south Pacific Ocean, from New Zealand to South Africa, where it is abundant.^[2] It undergoes a vertical daily migration, spending the day at depth and moving closer to the surface at night^[4] to feed on copepods, euphausiids and hyperiids. Spawning appears to occur between September and December.^[2] It was first described in 1924 as Abralia gilchristi by Guy Coburn Robson.^[5][6] The specific name honours the Scottish zoologist John Gilchrist (1866-1926) who was the first director of the Marine Biological Survey in Cape Town.^[7] The type specimen was taken off Cape Town and is held in the Natural History Museum, London.^[8]

Abraliopsis gilchristi
photo:NCMI specimen MIIC-00735[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[2]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Enoploteuthidae
Genus:	Abraliopsis
Subgenus:	Micrabralia
Species:	A. gilchristi
Binomial name
Abraliopsis gilchristi (Robson, 1924)[3]
Synonyms[3]
Abralia gilchristi Robson, 1924 Enoploteuthis neozelanica Dell, 1959