Scientists release the first shots of this bizarre squid

Ram’s horn shells are small, smooth spiral structures Find out in general All over the world.

Nevertheless, the original owners of their bombs are very elusive. Until now, we have never had scenes of a scene in the jungle.

In the twilight zone of our oceans, at the fingertips of sunlight, the long-range vehicle (ROV) is now provided The first scenes A ram horn squid (Spirula Spirula) In its natural habitat.

This strange-looking cephalopod is a small thing about 7 centimeters (less than 3 inches) long with eight arms, two tentacles, a pair of swollen eyes and a typical puppet-like appearance.

At its tail-end, hidden under its mantle, is a tightly rolled inner shell fitted with gas chambers that handle the animal for buoyancy.

First, there were researchers operating the ROV at the Schmidt Ocean Institute Do not know What were they looking at.

“What on earth?” A scientist can ask Shouting In the background of the video, the Great Barrier Reef was filmed directly at a depth of about 850 to 860 meters (2,790 feet).

Exciting news! This appears to be the first observation of Spirula, Akka Ram’s Horn Squid, alive + in the natural environment. Very rarely seen or captured, they have many extinct relatives, but are only members of the genus Spirula, family Spirulidae and Order Spirulida. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/re4rZyRuER

– Schmidt Ocean (ch Schmidt Ocean) October 27, 2020

The rare sight was shared online and confirmed as the first footage of live Spirula In the deep sea, the largest and least explored habitat of our planet.

Despite the large number of deep-sea species never seen before in natural waters, this recent opportunity meeting has particularly excited scientists.

OMG! Well, I do not want to be too excited … but according to many squid experts, this may be the first video of a live ram horn squid! Although this squid has many extinct relatives, they only have this kind of remnant & spindle shell!
🎥Ch Smith Ocean #DailyJelly pic.twitter.com/0Lv6ESvYNI

– Open Ocean Survey (@RebeccaRHelm) October 27, 2020

Ram horn squid is rarely found in the wild, that’s all One of the most unusual cephalopods Out.

With the exception of the cutfish, the only known mollusk has a shell with an inner chamber to keep it moderate. Unlike cutfish, this squid skeleton is tightly curled; Molluscs in Nautilus The species also has similarly shaped shells, but they go on the outside of the animal.

“I’ve been looking for these for a long time,” Michael Vechion, a zoologist who studies midwaters squid at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, told ScienceAlert.

“I have no questions Spirula. ”

While Vecchion usually catches this species from the depths, sometimes keeping them in fish stocks, he has never seen squid scenes in its natural habitat.

Neither is Niez Pascal studying Spirula At the University of Burgundy in France. He told ScienceAlert that the video was very exciting.

Spirula shell. (Antonov / public domain)

Aside from the rare rarity of this encounter, there is one particularly surprising feature in the scenes: the position of the animal, its head and tentacles floating upright, and its fins pointing downwards.

“Are we fully aware of the orientation of the shooting? If so, this is the king of the revolution,” Pascal told ScienceAlert.

“A lot of people leave because their heads are up,” says Vecchion.

“The reason they exit is because the shell with its buoyancy is on the other end of the squid. So, the heavier the head, the less you think it will hang down.”

When placed in a fishbowl, this is actually the squid orient. Its face down and its tents face down – so were the species Thought to take the same position In the deep sea.

(Evolve Rapsmen / Public Domain)

According to Vechion, there is a problem with that assumption. Ram’s horn squid has a light-generating element called the photophore, which is located close to the temperate shell.

If this means Spirula Their head is hanging down, and that light is facing upwards, which is very unusual for deep sea animals.

In the twilight zone of our oceans, hunters often have them Above the eyes In the hope of seeing the shadow of possible food. Therefore, photographs help to hide prey in the deep sea. If the lamp is pointed upwards, the element is almost useless.

There are a lot of things we don’t know yet Spirula, Including how the species reproduces and where they lay their eggs, but this squid diverts itself into the water is one of Vecion’s biggest questions.

Although he cannot say for sure that it floats with its tents always facing upwards, he says these scenes are good evidence that those scenes do this for at least a fraction of the time. We need additional observations to solve that mystery.

Interests surrounding the Ram Horn Squid do not end there. When the creature was last beaten in the video, it looked like a little ink had spilled into the water; It is very certain that Vechion came from the squid – it was a possible diversionary trick to escape.

Spirula Possible ink from spirula. (Schmidt Ocean Company / YouTube)

“It simply came to our notice then Spirula There is a method of making ink, but it is as rare in this species as any other deep-sea creature, ”Vechion told ScienceAlert.

“But it suggests that it is functional and that they are using it for security.”

This may be our first time finding a lamb’s horned squid in its natural habitat, but this is their first time in the face of an ROV. Enough if they soak themselves.