Brachioteuthidae

Brachioteuthidae is a family of squid containing two genera and around seven species. They are muscular, but rather thin squids with a ML up to ~20 cm. The tentacle club is unique in this family in that the dactylus is normal (usually 3-4 sucker series), while the manus is greatly expanded with numerous small suckers on stalks. Many species show very little differentiation between the carpus, manus, and the dactylus.

==Taxonomy== The family Brachioteuthidae was fully described by Pfeffer in 1908, with its first species, Brachioteuthis beanii, originally identified by A.E. Verrill in 1881 from two specimens collected off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. However, the species was described based on a heavily damaged individual, which made its classification more challenging. Initially, B. beanii was considered a potential member of the family Chiroteuthidae due to the neck-like feature observed in its paralarvae, but further examination revealed several key differences that warranted its placement in Brachioteuthidae instead.