Iridoteuthis merlini

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Iridoteuthis merlini
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Order: Sepiida
Family: Sepiolidae
Subfamily: Heteroteuthidinae
Genus: Iridoteuthis
Species:
I. merlini [1]
Binomial name
Iridoteuthis merlini [2]
A. Reid, 2021

Iridoteuthis merlini is a species of bobtail squid endemic to the open ocean off New Zealand as well as eastern and south-eastern Australia. [3] I. merlini was discovered along with Iridoteuthis lophia by Dr Amanda Reid in 2021. Her findings were published in Zootaxa.

Contents

Discovery

Reid discovered Iridoteuthis merlini and Iridoteuthis lophia while studying Stoloteuthis maoria specimens in New Zealand. She discovered that they had been incorrectly described by Richard Dell in 1959, finding that the S. maoria specimens are actually squids from two different genera: Iridoteuthis and Stauroteuthis . I. merlini was named in honour of academic Professor Merlin Crossley, deputy vice chancellor of UNSW Sydney.

Bioluminescence

I. merlini stores phosphorescent bacteria in a special organ in its body. The squid can adjust the luminous intensity of itself, and can eject jets of the luminescent bacteria into the ocean to deter potential predators. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bobtail squid</span> Order cephalopod molluscs closely related to cuttlefish

Bobtail squid are a group of cephalopods closely related to cuttlefish. Bobtail squid tend to have a rounder mantle than cuttlefish and have no cuttlebone. They have eight suckered arms and two tentacles and are generally quite small.

Euprymna stenodactyla is a species of bobtail squid.

<i>Stoloteuthis leucoptera</i> Species of mollusc

Stoloteuthis leucoptera, also known as the butterfly bobtail squid, is a widespread species of bobtail squid. Its natural range covers the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and southwestern Indian Ocean. It is distributed from the Gulf of St Lawrence to the Straits of Florida in the western Atlantic and in the Bay of Biscay in the eastern Atlantic. In the Mediterranean Sea, it is specifically found in the northern and southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Ligurian Sea, and off Gorgona Island. S. leucoptera has also been recorded from the Benguela Current off Namibia. There exist unverified records of specimens off eastern Tasmania.

<i>Stoloteuthis</i> Genus of molluscs

Stoloteuthis is a small genus of bobtail squid in the family Sepiolidae and the subfamily Heteroteuthidinae with one species, Stoloteuthis leucoptera, which is found in the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, the Indian Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The other species, Stoloteuthis japonica. was described in 2011 from a type specimen collected off northeastern Honshu.

<i>Semirossia tenera</i> Species of mollusc

Semirossia tenera, also known as the lesser bobtail squid, is a widespread species of bobtail squid native to the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Its natural range covers the eastern coast of North America, from the northern Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. S. tenera is possibly also present in the southwest Atlantic, specifically off the coasts of Suriname, French Guiana, Brazil, and Uruguay, although the latter records are questionable.

<i>Rondeletiola minor</i> Species of mollusc

Rondeletiola minor, also known as the lentil bobtail, is a species of bobtail squid native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Its natural range covers the northwest of Spain, Portugal, and the eastern, central and western Mediterranean Sea to the southeastern Atlantic Benguela Current off Namibia.

<i>Sepiola aurantiaca</i> Species of mollusc

Sepiola aurantiaca, also known as the golden bobtail squid, is a rare species of bobtail squid native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. It ranges from southern Norway to the western Mediterranean Sea. S. aurantiaca occurs on the outer continental shelf and in the upper bathyal zone. The depth range of this species is possibly from 200 to 400 m.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idiosepiidae</span> Family of molluscs

Idiosepiidae, also known as the pygmy squids, is a family of squids in the superorder Decapodiformes. They are the smallest known squids.

<i>Euprymna scolopes</i> Species of cephalopods known as the Hawaiian bobtail squid

Euprymna scolopes, also known as the Hawaiian bobtail squid, is a species of bobtail squid in the family Sepiolidae native to the central Pacific Ocean, where it occurs in shallow coastal waters off the Hawaiian Islands and Midway Island. The type specimen was collected off the Hawaiian Islands and is deposited at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

Sepietta petersi, also known as the mysterious bobtail, is a species of bobtail squid native to the Mediterranean Sea. A doubtful record of S. petersi also exists from the Atlantic Ocean off Morocco.

Rossia bullisi, also known as the Gulf bobtail squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, specifically the northern Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida.

Rossia megaptera, also known as the big-fin bobtail squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, specifically Davis Strait, western Greenland, and off New York, in Hudson Canyon. It lives at depths from 179 to 1,536 m. It can grow up to 41 mm in mantle length.

<i>Rossia palpebrosa</i> Species of mollusc

Rossia palpebrosa, also known as the warty bobtail squid, is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern Atlantic Ocean.

<i>Iridoteuthis</i> Genus of molluscs

Iridoteuthis is a genus of bobtail squid comprising three species. They belong to the subfamily Heteroteuthinae of the family Sepiolidae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iridoteuthis iris</span> Species of mollusc

Iridoteuthis iris is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern central Pacific Ocean; it occurs near the Hawaiian Islands off the southeast and northwest Hancock, Colahan, and Kammu seamounts. There exists a doubtful record from the Ceram Sea. Unlike most other bobtail squid, I. iris is pelagic and lives in the open ocean.

<i>Sepioloidea pacifica</i> Species of cuttlefish

Sepioloidea pacifica, also known as the Pacific bobtail squid, is a species of cuttlefish native to the southern Pacific Ocean; it occurs off New Zealand in the west and in the Nazca and Sala y Gomez submarine ridges in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stoloteuthis maoria</span> Species of mollusc

Stoloteuthis maoria is a species of bobtail squid native to the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It occurs in Cook Strait and Chatham Rise off North Island in New Zealand, and has also been recorded from the Nazca and Sala y Gomez submarine ridges in the eastern Pacific.

Merlin Crossley, is an Australian molecular biologist, university teacher and administrator. In 2016, he was appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic) at the University of New South Wales.

<i>Rossia</i> Genus of molluscs

Rossia is a genus of 10 species of benthic bobtail squid in the family Sepioidae found in all oceans. They live at depths greater than 50 m (164 ft) and can grow up to 9 cm in mantle length. This genus was first discovered in 1832 by Sir John Ross and his nephew James Clark Ross in the Arctic Seas, showing a resemblance to another genus under the same family, Sepiola. After returning from their expedition, Sir Richard Owen officially classified Rossia to be a new genus, naming it after Sir John and James Clark Ross.

References

  1. Reid, Amanda L. (28 July 2021). "Two new species of Iridoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae: Heteroteuthinae) from the southwest Pacific, with a redescription of Stoloteuthis maoria (Dell, 1959)". Zootaxa . 5005 (4): 503–537. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5005.4.3. PMID   34810600. S2CID   237715537.
  2. Reid, Amanda L. (28 July 2021). "Two new species of Iridoteuthis (Cephalopoda: Sepiolidae: Heteroteuthinae) from the southwest Pacific, with a redescription of Stoloteuthis maoria (Dell, 1959)". Zootaxa . 5005 (4): 503–537. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5005.4.3. PMID   34810600. S2CID   237715537.
  3. UNSW Media (16 September 2021). "New species of bobtail squid named in honour of Professor Merlin Crossley". UNSW Newsroom. Archived from the original on 16 September 2021.
  4. Vince, Claire (23 July 2021). "Spectacular new butterfly bobtail squid named to honour Professor Merlin Crossley". Australian Museum .