earth science

Nototodarus sloanii

Nototodarus sloanii is a earth science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Nototodarus sloanii rather than just read about it. In short: Nototodarus sloanii is a species of squid commonly known as the New Zealand arrow squid or Wellington flying squid. It is also known by its Māori name of wheketere.

Key takeaways

Nototodarus sloanii belongs to earth science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Nototodarus sloanii to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Nototodarus sloanii from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Nototodarus sloanii is a species of squid commonly known as the New Zealand arrow squid or Wellington flying squid. It is also known by its Māori name of wheketere. It is a favoured prey species of a number of marine mammals and seabirds. It is an important food source for the New Zealand fur seal and two endangered species: the New Zealand sea lion and the yellow-eyed penguin (Megadyptes antipodes). Nototodarus sloanii is sought by trawler fishermen for human consumption; New Zealand sea lions are frequently caught in trawl nets and drowned when feeding on N. sloanii.

Habitat The species inhabits the coastal regions and the continental shelf around New Zealand to a depth of about 500 m, at a broad range of temperatures but more inclined towards colder waters.

Description The species exhibits a maximum mantle length of between 32 and 42 cm (13 and 17 in), and a maximum weight of 0.6 to 1.8 kg (1.3 to 4.0 lb) when fully grown. Growth rates are known to increase with higher temperatures. They have an orange and pink muscular mantle that tapers to a pointed tail, with a darker maroon stripe down the midline, and has a sagittate (arrowhead-shaped) marking that is 42 to 48% of the mantle length. It also has broad fins angled 40–50 degrees and eight tentacles, mainly composed of the tentacular club, with sucker rings containing 11 to 13 conical teeth with low platelets; arm sucker rings with 11–15 short teeth surrounding a central one. They use these tentacles for catching prey. There are two fins on the head of the squid that are used to siphon water in one side and push it out of the other. The mouth can be found in between the arms.

Lifecycle The peak spawning season for N. sloanii is from September to March. However, spawning occurs throughout the year for this species. The squids reproduce sexually; they have a mating ritual that can be behavioral, physical, and morphological. During this process, the male hold the female and insert their hectocotylus into the females' mantle cavity; the spermatophores are then typically found in the buccal cavities of the females, but sometimes the spermatophores are affixed to the head, arms, or dorsal mantle of the female. The male and female adults die shortly after spawning (semelparity). Embryos hatch at a planktonic stage until they grow into benthic adults that live for just over a year, and due to a high growth rate, they reach maturity at around 200 days. The arrow squid has a short lifespan, rapid growth and development, and ability to have their appearance molded. Due to this, their population is made up of new individuals each year. At the cellular level of the arrow squid, growth occurs over their entire lifespan by excessive growth and abnormal increase in the number of cells. Arrow squids have exceptionally high growth efficiency, with a protein-based metabolism that rapidly converts energy into growth. They store very little if any of their food energy. The metabolic and growth rates of squid are very high in fact they may be as high as some mammals. Nototodarus sloanii displays high intraspecific variability in areas such as egg size and rates of embryonic development, hatchling size, growth, age and size at maturity. Their changing appearances along with their short lifespan and rapid growth rates allows the squid to be extremely responsive to changing environmental conditions. They are also able to move over considerable distances leading to them having unpredictable and complex patterns of distribution.

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Nototodarus sloanii

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Nototodarus sloanii claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In earth science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Nototodarus sloanii before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Nototodarus sloanii ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Nototodarus sloanii

In research: Nototodarus sloanii appears in earth science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Nototodarus sloanii in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Nototodarus sloanii is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Cephalopods described in 1849, Cephalopods of Oceania, Endemic fauna of New Zealand, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Nototodarus sloanii outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Nototodarus sloanii in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Nototodarus sloanii means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Nototodarus sloanii out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Nototodarus sloanii in simple terms?

Nototodarus sloanii is a species of squid commonly known as the New Zealand arrow squid or Wellington flying squid. It is also known by its Māori name of wheketere.

Why does Nototodarus sloanii matter?

Because it connects several earth science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Nototodarus sloanii?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Nototodarus sloanii.