Bathochordaeus charon

Last updated

Bathochordaeus charon
Bathochordaeus charon.gif
Bathochordaeus charon, scale bar ~ 2 cm
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Phylum:
Subphylum:
Class:
Order:
Family:
Subfamily:
Genus:
Species:
B. charon
Binomial name
Bathochordaeus charon
(Chun, 1900) [1]

Bathochordaeus charon is a species of giant larvacean, a solitary, free-swimming tunicate that filter feeds in surface waters. [2] The species was named after Charon, the mythical Greek ferryman who carried the souls of the dead across the rivers dividing the world of the living from the world of the dead. [2] [3]

First description of this very large larvacean was provided in 1900 by Carl Chun from two specimens collected during the Valdivia expedition in 1898–1899. The first definitive record of Bathochordaeus charon since its original description was obtained in 2016 by R. E. Sherlock, K. R. Walz and B. H. Robison, using a ROV in the Monterey Bay, California, USA.

A small number of Bathochordaeus have been found near Bermuda, in the Indian Ocean, or off the Nansei islands but they differ significantly from B. charon. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey Bay Aquarium</span> Nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California, United States

Monterey Bay Aquarium is a nonprofit public aquarium in Monterey, California. Known for its regional focus on the marine habitats of Monterey Bay, it was the first to exhibit a living kelp forest when it opened in October 1984. Its biologists have pioneered the animal husbandry of jellyfish and it was the first to successfully care for and display a great white shark. The organization's research and conservation efforts also focus on sea otters, various birds, and tunas. Seafood Watch, a sustainable seafood advisory list published by the aquarium beginning in 1999, has influenced the discussion surrounding sustainable seafood. They are the home of the current oldest living sea otter, Rosa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey Bay</span> Large salt water bay in California, United States

Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean located on the coast of the U.S. state of California, south of the San Francisco Bay Area. San Francisco itself is further north along the coast, by about 75 miles, accessible via Highway 1 and Highway 280.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ocean sunfish</span> Species of fish

The ocean sunfish or common mola is one of the largest bony fish in the world. It was misidentified as the heaviest bony fish, which was actually a different species, Mola alexandrini. Adults typically weigh between 247 and 1,000 kg. The species is native to tropical and temperate waters around the world. It resembles a fish head without a tail, and its main body is flattened laterally. Sunfish can be as tall as they are long when their dorsal and ventral fins are extended.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vampire squid</span> Species of cephalopod

The vampire squid is a small cephalopod found throughout temperate and tropical oceans in extreme deep sea conditions. The vampire squid uses its bioluminescent organs and its unique oxygen metabolism to thrive in the parts of the ocean with the lowest concentrations of oxygen. It has two long retractile filaments, located between the first two pairs of arms on its dorsal side, which distinguish it from both octopuses and squids, and places it in its own order, Vampyromorphida, although its closest relatives are octopods. As a phylogenetic relict, it is the only known surviving member of its order.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larvacean</span> Class of marine animals in the subphylum Tunicata

Larvaceans, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. Like most tunicates, larvaceans are filter feeders. Unlike most other tunicates, they live in the pelagic zone, specifically in the photic zone, or sometimes deeper. They are transparent planktonic animals, generally less than 1 cm (0.39 in) in body length, excluding the tail.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelp forest</span> Underwater areas with a high density of kelp

Kelp forests are underwater areas with a high density of kelp, which covers a large part of the world's coastlines. Smaller areas of anchored kelp are called kelp beds. They are recognized as one of the most productive and dynamic ecosystems on Earth. Although algal kelp forest combined with coral reefs only cover 0.1% of Earth's total surface, they account for 0.9% of global primary productivity. Kelp forests occur worldwide throughout temperate and polar coastal oceans. In 2007, kelp forests were also discovered in tropical waters near Ecuador.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</span> American oceanographic research institute

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) is a private, non-profit oceanographic research center in Moss Landing, California. MBARI was founded in 1987 by David Packard, and is primarily funded by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Christopher Scholin serves as the institute's president and chief executive officer, managing a work force of approximately 220 scientists, engineers, and operations and administrative staff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant Pacific octopus</span> Species of cephalopod

The giant Pacific octopus, also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus. Its spatial distribution includes the coastal North Pacific, along Mexico, The United States, Canada, Russia, Eastern China, Japan, and the Korean Peninsula. It can be found from the intertidal zone down to 2,000 m (6,600 ft), and is best adapted to cold, oxygen-rich water. It is the largest octopus species, based on a scientific record of a 71-kilogram (157-pound) individual weighed live.

<i>Taningia danae</i> Species of cephalopods

Taningia danae, the Dana octopus squid, is a species of squid in the family Octopoteuthidae. It is one of the largest known squid species, reaching a mantle length of 1.7 m (5.6 ft) and total length of 2.3 m (7.5 ft). The largest known specimen, a mature female, weighed 161.4 kg (356 lb).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Giant trevally</span> Species of fish

The giant trevally, also known as the lowly trevally, barrier trevally, ronin jack, giant kingfish, or ulua, is a species of large marine fish classified in the jack family, Carangidae. The giant trevally is distributed throughout the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region, with a range stretching from South Africa in the west to Hawaii in the east, including Japan in the north and Australia in the south. Two were documented in the eastern tropical Pacific in the 2010s, but whether the species will become established there remains to be seen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gelatinous zooplankton</span> Fragile and often translucent animals that live in the water column

Gelatinous zooplankton are fragile animals that live in the water column in the ocean. Their delicate bodies have no hard parts and are easily damaged or destroyed. Gelatinous zooplankton are often transparent. All jellyfish are gelatinous zooplankton, but not all gelatinous zooplankton are jellyfish. The most commonly encountered organisms include ctenophores, medusae, salps, and Chaetognatha in coastal waters. However, almost all marine phyla, including Annelida, Mollusca and Arthropoda, contain gelatinous species, but many of those odd species live in the open ocean and the deep sea and are less available to the casual ocean observer. Many gelatinous plankters utilize mucous structures in order to filter feed. Gelatinous zooplankton have also been called "Gelata".

<i>Chrysaora colorata</i> Species of jellyfish

Chrysaora colorata (Russell), commonly known as the purple-striped jelly, is a species of jellyfish that exists primarily off the coast of California from Bodega Bay to San Diego. The bell (body) of the jellyfish is up to 70 cm (2.3 ft) in diameter, typically with a radial pattern of stripes. The tentacles vary with the age of the individual, consisting typically of eight marginal long dark arms, and four central frilly oral arms. It is closely studied by scientists due to not much being known about their eating habits.

<i>Stygiomedusa</i> Genus of jellyfish

Stygiomedusa gigantea, commonly known as the giant phantom jelly, is the only species in the monotypic genus of deep sea jellyfish, Stygiomedusa. It is in the Ulmaridae family. With only around 110 sightings in 110 years, it is a jellyfish that is rarely seen, but believed to be widespread throughout the world, with the exception of the Arctic Ocean.

Barbara Block is an American marine biologist and Charles & Elizabeth Prothro Professor of Biology in Marine Sciences at the Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station and a co-director of Stanford University's Tuna Research and Conservation Center, with the Monterey Bay Aquarium. She has published numerous bodies of work throughout her career in marine biology and chemistry, mainly focusing on the biology and chemistry of metabolism in different tuna and shark species. Additionally, she has helped develop two new types of electronic tags for large pelagic predators in order to track the migrations of large oceanic predator species.

<i>Benthocodon</i> Genus of hydrozoans

Benthocodon is a genus of hydrozoans of the family Rhopalonematidae. The genus contains two known species: Benthocodon hyalinus and Benthocodon pedunculatus, however due to the small size and red pigmentation, they can easily be confused with related genera. Unlike many hydromedusae, these jellyfish do not have a sessile stage. Rather, they spend their entire lives in the water column as plankton. The genus Benthocodon can be found near the sea floor in the Pacific Ocean from Antarctica to California to the Arctic Ocean.

Free Ocean CO2 Enrichment (FOCE) is a technology facilitating studies of the consequences of ocean acidification for marine organisms and communities by enabling the precise control of CO2 enrichment within in situ, partially open, experimental enclosures. Current FOCE systems control experimental CO2 perturbations by real-time monitoring of differences in seawater pH between treatment (i.e. high-CO2) and control (i.e. ambient) seawater within experimental enclosures.

<i>Thalassocalyce</i> Genus of ctenophores

Thalassocalyce is a genus of ctenophore, or comb jellies, known from the California Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and west north Atlantic. It is represented by a single species, Thalassocalyce inconstans, which is the only species in the family Thalassocalycidae and the order Thalassocalycida. T. inconstans is a pelagic ctenophore typically occurring in upper-mesopelagic depths, but has been observed at depths up to 3,500 m in Monterey Canyon.

<i>Bathochordaeus</i> Genus of marine filter-feeders

Bathochordaeus is a genus of larvacean tunicates in the family Oikopleuridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Osborn</span> American annelidologist

Karen Joyce Osborn is a marine scientist at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History Invertebrate Zoology department. She is known for her work in marine biology specializing in mid-water invertebrates.

Bathochordaeus mcnutti is a species of larvacean in the family Oikopleuridae.

References

  1. Hopcroft, Russ (2008). "Bathochordaeus charon (Chun, 1900)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  2. 1 2 3 Sherlock, R. E.; Walz, K. R.; Robison, B. H. (30 August 2016). "The first definitive record of the giant larvacean, Bathochordaeus charon, since its original description in 1900 and a range extension to the northeast Pacific Ocean". Marine Biodiversity Records. 9 (1). doi: 10.1186/s41200-016-0075-9 .
  3. Mysterious Ocean Blob Found for First Time in a Century National Geographic, 6 December 2016.