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scientist inChinamay have key out a newfound specie of vampire calamari — only the second known species in the world .
lamia calamary ( Vampyroteuthis infernalis ) reach length of about 1 fundament ( 0.3 meters ) . Despite their forbidding appearance and name , they are inscrutable - sea magpie and are unlikely to harm anything by from modest invertebrates and in fact usually gravitate toward feces and dead animals .
The newly discovered vampire squid V. pseudoinfernalis.
The mintage has been found in temperate and tropical ocean surround in many areas of the earthly concern .
The only officially acknowledge species was key in 1903 following a deep - sea expedition led by German nautical biologist Carl Chun . A act of extra coinage were later on described but eventually turn out to be members of the same species .
These supposed newfound species werejuvenile formsofV. infernalis , which had very dissimilar physical characteristics — the squid grow a second set of fins closer to its head as it matures and its original louvre vanish .
come to : rarified telecasting shows problematical inscrutable - sea calamari cradling her gigantic , semitransparent nut
" Ten synonymous species that had previously been draw showed some structural differences in their various life stagecoach , " study lead authorDajun Qiu , a maritime life scientist at the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology , severalize Live Science .
Now , in a new study that appeared on May 2 in the preprint journalBioRxiv , research worker have describe a second species of vampire squid found in the South China Sea , near Hainan island , China , in 2016 , which they namedV. pseudoinfernalis . It was get around 2,600 to 3,300 feet ( 800 to 1,000 meters ) below the sea control surface , in the so - call crepuscle zone , where slight lightness from the surface penetrates .
This newly distinguish species displays some unique characteristics that identify it fromV. infernalis . For example , the post of two photophores — light - producing organs — located between its fins and rump are unlike . InV. infernalis , they are located a third of the way between the fins and the end of the dead body , while inV. pseudoinfernalisthey are situate roughly midway between these points . V. pseudoinfernalisalso has a pointed tail whileV. infernalisdoes not have one at all . The newfound metal money also has a snoot with a long wing on its low jaw .
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In photographs of the preserved specimen , it front like a black , gelatinous blob — but in its abstruse - ocean environment it probably shares the billowing , cloak - alike form of its cousin .
Genetic analysis further hint thatV. pseudoinfernalisis a distinct species , Qiu observe .
" We will analyze more specimen to ensure that observed morphological conflict are consistent in the future , " Qiu say . It seems likely that its dieting is interchangeable to its better - bang congener , but enquiry is on-going , he said .
While the order Vampyromorphida contains onlyV. infernalisand the proposedV. pseudoinfernalis , numerous extinct congeneric exist in the fossil record . A newfound specie , unearthed in Luxembourg in 2022 , was preserved with fish clasped in its tentacle , according to a2024 paper .
