🌟 New Deep-Sea Creature Unveiled by Chinese Scientists! 🦑
In an epic discovery that feels straight out of a sci-fi movie, Chinese scientists have found a brand-new species related to the mysterious vampire squid lurking in the depths of the South China Sea! 🌊 Imagine exploring over 800 meters underwater and finding a creature no one has ever seen before! 😮
Researchers from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have been diving deep (literally!) into this groundbreaking work. Their findings, published in the journal Zootaxa, reveal that this isn't just any ordinary squid. Through detailed analysis, they've confirmed it's a completely new species! 📝🔬
For over a century, the vampire squid has been the sole star of its order, Vampyromorphida. First discovered by German marine biologist Carl Chun in 1903, these deep-sea dwellers usually hang out between 600 and 900 meters below the surface, in dark, low-oxygen waters. 🌌
But now, there's a new kid on the block! 🚀 The team collected this elusive creature back in September 2016, southeast of Hainan Island, at depths between 800 and 1,000 meters. Comparing it to the known vampire squid, they spotted major differences in tail shape, beak structure, and those glow-in-the-dark photophores. Talk about a deep-sea glow-up! ✨
Genetic tests sealed the deal, showing that this newbie and the vampire squid are distant relatives on the evolutionary tree. This makes it only the second known living species in the Vampyromorphida order. 🧬🌳 How cool is that?
Oh, and it gets even more fascinating! 🧐 Last year, researchers from the American Museum of Natural History and Yale University studied a 328-million-year-old fossil of a ten-armed cephalopod. Published in Nature Communications, their research suggests that ancient cephalopods like this one are the ancestors of both octopuses and vampire squids. This supports the idea that Vampyromorphida originally had ten arms before evolving to the eight arms we see today. Evolution magic! 🦑➡️🐙
This discovery not only adds a new chapter to marine biology textbooks but also ignites our imagination about the mysteries hidden beneath the waves. Who knows what other wonders await us in the deep sea? 🌊🔍
Reference(s):
New species related to vampire squid discovered by Chinese scientists
cgtn.com
