[News]: New Squid Species / this just in from yahoo

ubiquity

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STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Norwegian scientists who explored the deep waters of the Atlantic Ocean said Thursday their findings — including what appear to be new species of fish and squid — could be used to protect marine ecosystems worldwide.

okay!
anyone have further info?
i want to know about this!
you guys were the first people that came to mind when google searches went sour.

thank you so much for any heads up you can offer.
...and for those who remember me...sorry i've been gone so long! :smile:
 

Phil

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Bingo! Here's the new species of squid!

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5610557/

Mystery_squid_683.jpg


An unusual member of the Promachoteuthidae family of squids, distinguished by their small heads and small eyes covered with a semi-opaque pseudo-cornea ("Fig. 7". Promachoteuthis megapter. Photo credit Richard Young")

This is taken from the official press release available here:

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-08/coml-tso072704.php
 

ubiquity

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AWESOME phil!!
simply AWESOME!!!

can you believe it???
is this not GREAT???
we'll be discovering yet undiscovered GIANT squids as well in no time!!!
just BET on it!!!

WOOHOOOOO!!!!
i so love it when the money ends up in the hands of people who bring back results!
the deep oceans are becomming less and less of a mystery!
haleluja!!!
 

Phil

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Please click below for a much larger detailed image of Promachoteuthis megapter. This has just been taken from the Press Release downloadable at the link given above.

Full press briefing as follows:

MAR-ECO PRESS RELEASE, BERGEN, AUGUST 2004 -5 MAR-ECO PRESS RELEASE, BERGEN, AUGUST 2004 -5

Cephalopod diversity at the mid Atlantic Ridge

Scientists to be credited:Richard Young, Michael Vecchione, Uwe Piatkowski

All cephalopods captured on the MAR-ECO cruise will contribute to our understanding of their ecology, many will aid in clarifying the taxonomic status of their species, and some will provide new information on their life history and biology. Among the many specimens captured by the different trawls, we found at 45-50 different species.

Two squid, however, stand out in their potential impact. The first squid is a new and unusual species within the family Promachoteuthidae. The eleven previously known specimens in this family were taken from bathypelagic depths in the ocean and have small heads and small eyes covered with a semi-opaque “pseudocornea ” of unknown function.Two of the eleven specimens belong to the only named species, Promachoteuthis megaptera,which was first taken during the RRS Challenger expedition over 100 years ago. The MAR-ECO specimen, which is in excellent condition, is similar to a specimen captured in the North Atlantic by the R/V Walter Herwig during the early 1970s. If future study shows that the two latter specimens are indeed the same species, then they will provide sufficient material to describe and name the species.

The second squid belongs to Planctoteuthis, a genus of bathypelagic squid containing six species of which four are known only from paralarvae. The MAR-ECO specimen is a subadult, in excellent condition except for the loss of its tentacles during capture. Due to the squid’s capture in the aquarium cod-end of the large Aakra trawl, the delicate and unique form of the head was preserved. The subsequent trawl captured another specimen of this genus that was entangled in the meshes of the net and badly damaged. The second specimen, however, has an intact tentacle-club and if further study proves that both specimens belong to the same species, we will have a composite of what now appears to be a seventh and new species in this poorly known family.
 

Steve O'Shea

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Rather wow ay wot!! Immediate impression was some bizarre histioteuthid, but I'd never seen Promachoteuthis before (not this big). Respected names credited there - this will be a good one!

How strange ......

Squid rock! (and so does Neil)
 

ubiquity

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hey steve!
wouldn't care to answer this one for me,would you?
lord knows if anyone has the answer around here it's you!

are there cephs who's eyes have atrophied completely?

and the photo up there is just taken from an angle that doesn't catch the eyes,right?

...i'm feeling slightly stupid at the moment. LOL!!
 

tonmo

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Great news! Thanks for posting ubiquity, I've edited the subject title a bit to standardize it with other news stories on the site. Thanks!
 

Steve O'Shea

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ubiquity said:
are there cephs who's eyes have atrophied completely?

I'm not familiar with any squid or octopus in which the eyes have atrophied completely, but there certainly are some in which they have reduced considerably (and in the case of the cirrate octopus Cirrothauma, the lens has been lost in at least 1 species [depends if 'Cirroteuthis' magna is a species of Cirrothauma or not ... contentious issue]).

This particular specimen has been fixed (preserved) whilst fresh/partially live. The head has retracted into the mantle (quite considerably), but the two eyes will be the two flattened protruberances on the side of the head (the angle of the photo and the condition of the specimen make it look eyeless).
Cheers
O
 

Phil

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Maybe i missed it, but how large is this squid?

Hi tjohnson,

According to the Tree of Life pages on Promachoteuthis which you can view here, the squid is only known from three, very small specimens (10.5, 16.4 and 17 mm ML) and from one larger (50 mm ML) squid. There is no indication of the length of the new specimen in the press release but it looks larger than the 50mm specimen. It must be the largest specimen yet(?)

Phil
 

ubiquity

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so...
any updates?

anything new to add?

anyone know of any websites i can go to that keep up with the latest discoveries of animal life.

and on a side note...

who's into crytozoology?

nessie?
bigfoot?

any theories?
 
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