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Vampyronassa
''Vampyronassa rhodanica'' ("vampire fish trap") is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France. Morphology ''Vampyronassa'' reached total length about . This taxon differs from the modern vampire squid in having longer first dorsal arms, a larger hyponome, and a more elongated mantle. Original description described possible luminous organs, however in restudy they could not be confirmed. It had eight arms with uniserial suckers flanked by cirri, same as modern vampire squid. Retractile filaments that is known from modern vampire squid is not known in ''Vampyronassa''. Like vampire squid, ''Vampyronassa'' lacked of ink sac. Classification ''Vampyronassa'' shares some characters with modern vampire squid ''Vampyroteuthis'', such as lack of ink sac and unique type of sucker attachment. Analysis supports the sister relationship between ''Vampyronassa'' and ''Vampyroteuth ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampyronassa Rhodanica Hypothesised Reconstruction
''Vampyronassa rhodanica'' ("vampire fish trap") is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France. Morphology ''Vampyronassa'' reached total length about . This taxon differs from the modern vampire squid in having longer first dorsal arms, a larger hyponome, and a more elongated mantle. Original description described possible luminous organs, however in restudy they could not be confirmed. It had eight arms with uniserial suckers flanked by cirri, same as modern vampire squid. Retractile filaments that is known from modern vampire squid is not known in ''Vampyronassa''. Like vampire squid, ''Vampyronassa'' lacked of ink sac. Classification ''Vampyronassa'' shares some characters with modern vampire squid ''Vampyroteuthis'', such as lack of ink sac and unique type of sucker attachment. Analysis supports the sister relationship between ''Vampyronassa'' and ''Vampyroteuthi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampire Squid
The vampire squid (''Vampyroteuthis infernalis'', lit. 'vampire squid from hell') is a small cephalopod found throughout temperate and tropical oceans in extreme deep sea conditions. The vampire squid uses its bioluminescent organs and its unique oxygen metabolism to thrive in the parts of the ocean with the lowest concentrations of oxygen. It has two long retractile filaments, located between the first two pairs of arms on its dorsal side, which distinguish it from both octopuses and squids, and places it in its own order, Vampyromorphida, although its closest relatives are octopods. As a phylogenetic relict, it is the only known surviving member of its order. The first specimens were collected on the Valdivia Expedition and were originally described as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun, but later assigned to a new order together with several extinct taxa. Discovery The vampire squid was discovered during the Valdivia Expedition (1898–1899), led by C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampyromorphida
Vampyromorphida is an order of cephalopods comprising one known extant species ('' Vampyroteuthis infernalis'') and many extinct taxa. Physically, they somewhat resemble octopuses (their closest relatives), but the eight arms are united by a web of skin, and two smaller cilia are also present. Properly speaking, the vampire squid does not possess cilia, but cirri (cilia-like projections). Classification *Order Vampyromorphida **Suborder † Kelaenina ***Family † Muensterellidae **Suborder † Prototeuthina ***Family † Loligosepiidae ***Family † Geopeltididae ***Family † Lioteuthididae ***Family † Mastigophoridae **Suborder † Mesoteuthina ***Family † Palaeololiginidae ****Subfamily † Teudopseinae ****Subfamily † Palaeololigininae **Suborder Vampyromorphina ***Family Vampyroteuthidae The following taxa were long considered to belong to Vampyromorphida, but this placement may be incorrect:Fischer, Jean-Claude & Riou, Bernard (2002): ''Vampyronassa rhodanic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cephalopod
A cephalopod is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda ( Greek plural , ; "head-feet") such as a squid, octopus, cuttlefish, or nautilus. These exclusively marine animals are characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a set of arms or tentacles ( muscular hydrostats) modified from the primitive molluscan foot. Fishers sometimes call cephalopods "inkfish", referring to their common ability to squirt ink. The study of cephalopods is a branch of malacology known as teuthology. Cephalopods became dominant during the Ordovician period, represented by primitive nautiloids. The class now contains two, only distantly related, extant subclasses: Coleoidea, which includes octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish; and Nautiloidea, represented by '' Nautilus'' and '' Allonautilus''. In the Coleoidea, the molluscan shell has been internalized or is absent, whereas in the Nautiloidea, the external shell remains. About 800 living species of cephalopods have been i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Voulte-sur-Rhône (lagerstätte)
The late Middle Jurassic lagerstätte at La Voulte-sur-Rhône, in the Ardèche region of southwestern France, offers paleontologists an outstanding view of an undisturbed paleoecosystem that was preserved in fine detail as organisms died at the site and settled to the bottom of a shallow epicontinental sea, with a folded floor that in places exceeded 200 m at this site. The site preserves a marine system of the Lower Callovian stage, a little over 160 mya. The sequence is exposed in a series of quarries at La Boissine, west of the village of La Voulte-sur-Rhône. Iron pyrites in the silty shale are symptoms of an anoxic environment. The site was recognized among French paleontologists from the mid-nineteenth century for its finely detailed fossils. Preservation Some soft parts of organisms are preserved as phosphatised concretions, in exceptional cases down to cellular details, ''e.g.'' retinal structures in the eyes of conchyliocarid crustacea. Apart from Beecher's Tr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second epoch of the Jurassic Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 163.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations containing land animal fossils include the Forest Marble Formation in England, the Kilmaluag Formation in Scotland,British Geological Survey. 2011Stratigraphic framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf: research report RR/11/06 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham. the Daohugou Beds in China, the Itat Formation in Russia, and the Isalo III Formation of western Madagascar. Paleogeography During the Middle Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea began to separate into Laurasia and Gondwana, and the Atlantic Ocean formed. Eastern Laurasia was tectonically active as the Cimmerian plate continued to collide with Laurasia's southern coast, completely closing the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. A subd ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ink Sac
An ink sac is an anatomical feature that is found in many cephalopod mollusks used to produce the defensive cephalopod ink. With the exception of nocturnal and very deep water cephalopods, all Coleoidea (squid, octopus and cuttlefish) which dwell in light conditions have an ink sac, which can be used to expel a cloud of dark ink in order to confuse predators. The ink sac is a muscular bag which originated as an extension of the hind gut; it is a modified hypobranchial gland.Nair, J.R., D. Pillai, S.M. Joseph, P. Gomathi, P.V. Senan & P.M. Sherief (2011). ''Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences'' 40(1): 13–27. It lies beneath the gut and opens into the anus, into which its contents – almost pure melanin – can be squirted; its proximity to the base of the funnel means that the ink can be distributed by ejected water as the cephalopod uses its jet propulsion. The ejected cloud of melanin is bound by mucus Mucus ( ) is a slippery aqueous secretion produced by, and c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurassic Cephalopods
The Jurassic ( ) is a geologic period and stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the middle period of the Mesozoic Era and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified. The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province. The beginning of the Toarcian Stage started around 183 million years ago and is marked by an extinction event associated with widespread oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated temperatures likely caused by the eruption of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous provinces. The end of the Jurassic, however, has no clear boundary with the Cretaceous and is the only boundary between geological periods to remain formally undefined. By the beginning of the Jurassic, t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Octopodiformes
Octopodiformes is a superorder of the subclass Coleoidea, comprising the octopuses and the vampire squid. All living members of Octopodiformes have eight arms, either lacking the two tentacles of squid (as is the case in octopuses) or modifying the tentacles into thin filaments (as in vampire squid). Octopodiformes is often considered the crown group of octopuses and vampire squids, including all descendants of their common ancestor. Some authors use the term Vampyropoda for the same general category, though others use "Vampyropoda" to refer to the total group (all cephalopods closer to octopods than to true squid). Another term is Octobranchia, referring to cephalopods without prominent tentacles. ''Pohlsepia'', originally described as earliest octopod is considered as dubious for this group in later study. The oldest unambiguous vampyropod is ''Syllipsimopodi'', a squid-like cephalopod from the Mississippian-age Bear Gulch Lagerstätte of Montana. ''Syllipsimopodi'' has a combi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prehistoric Cephalopod Genera
Prehistory, also known as pre-literary history, is the period of human history between the use of the first stone tools by hominins 3.3 million years ago and the beginning of recorded history with the invention of writing systems. The use of symbols, marks, and images appears very early among humans, but the earliest known writing systems appeared 5000 years ago. It took thousands of years for writing systems to be widely adopted, with writing spreading to almost all cultures by the 19th century. The end of prehistory therefore came at very different times in different places, and the term is less often used in discussing societies where prehistory ended relatively recently. In the early Bronze Age, Sumer in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley Civilisation, and ancient Egypt were the first civilizations to develop their own scripts and to keep historical records, with their neighbors following. Most other civilizations reached the end of prehistory during the following Iro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Necroteuthis
''Necroteuthis'' is an extinct genus of vampire squids from the Oligocene of Hungary. It contains one species, ''N. hungarica''. It was initially identified as a squid True squid are molluscs with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles in the superorder Decapodiformes, though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also called squid despite not strictly fitting t ..., but was recently reinterpreted as a vampyroteuthid. References {{Reflist} Octopodiformes Prehistoric cephalopod genera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the exact dates of the start and end of the epoch are slightly uncertain. The name Oligocene was coined in 1854 by the German paleontologist Heinrich Ernst Beyrich from his studies of marine beds in Belgium and Germany. The name comes from the Ancient Greek (''olígos'', "few") and (''kainós'', "new"), and refers to the sparsity of extant forms of molluscs. The Oligocene is preceded by the Eocene Epoch and is followed by the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recent" ... Epoch. The Oligocene is the third and final epoch of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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