This photo taken on September 13, 2016 shows the Vampyroteuthis infernalis-like specimen collected at depths between 800 and 1,000 meters in the South China Sea in September 2016. Chinese scientists have identified a new species of vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), only the second known vampire squid species in the world.
Chinese scientists have identified a new species of vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), only the second known vampire squid species in the world.
Researchers from the South China Sea Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences collected a specimen similar to Vampyroteuthis infernalis (V. infernalis) at depths between 800 and 1,000 meters in the South China Sea in September 2016.
The research team performed a morphological and phylogenetic analysis of the specimen and V. infernalis. The results showed that the morphology shows notable differences in the tail shape, lower mandible and position of the light organs. A phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial COI and nuclear large subunit ribosomal DNA sequences revealed well-established large distances and a clear separation of the specimen from V. infernalis.
Qiu Dajun, the lead author of the study, explained that V. infernalis was first described in 1903 by German marine biologist Carl Chun and typically lives at a depth of 600 to 900 meters in the temperate and tropical oceans of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic, where oxygen concentrations are low.
The new species was named Vampyroteuthis pseudoinfernalis Qiu, Liu & Huang, sp. nov. The study was published online in the journal Zoological Systematics.
