chiroteuthid

Any squid in the family Chiroteuthidae, sometimes called whiplash squids.

All chiroteuthids have distinct tentacles and club morphology, but given the extreme length and fragility of these structures, they are often lost during capture, especially in nets, or when specimens have been recovered from fisheries^([sic]) bycatch.

Relating to, of characteristic of, squids of the family Chiroteuthidae.

Members of the “chiroteuthid lineage” which apparently includes the Chiroteuthidae, Mastigoteuthidae, Joubiniteuthidae, Batoteuthidae, Promachoteuthidae and “big-fin” may all have secondarily derived tentacular clubs.

The chiroteuthid families are a clade united morphologically by the absence of a primary tentacle club and the presence of a secondary tentacle club, comprising six families: the Chiroteuthidae, Mastigoteuthidae, Joubiniteuthidae, Promachoteuthidae, Batoteuthidae, and Magnapinnidae.