Helicocranchia

Helicocranchia is a genus of small glass squids from the family Cranchiidae, known as piglet squid. They are characterized by possessing a very large funnel and in having a pair of small paddle-like fins which are attached to a part of the gladius which sits above the muscular mantle. These squid undergo a slow descent starting near the surface as paralarvae moving down to lower mesopelagic depths as near-adults.^[2]

Helicocranchia
Helicocranchia pfefferi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Cephalopoda
Order:	Oegopsida
Family:	Cranchiidae
Subfamily:	Taoniinae
Genus:	Helicocranchia Massy, 1907[1]
Type species
Helicocranchia pfefferi Massy, 1907
Species
see text
Synonyms
Ascocranchia Voss, 1962

The genus contains bioluminescent species.^[3]

Species

There are three species of Helicocranchia:^[1]

• Helicocranchia joubini (Voss, 1962)
• Helicocranchia papillata (Voss, 1960)
• Helicocranchia pfefferi Massy, 1907