''Iridoteuthis merlini'' is a species of

bobtail squid Bobtail squid (order Sepiolida) are a group of cephalopods closely related to cuttlefish. Bobtail squid tend to have a rounder mantle (mollusc), mantle than cuttlefish and have no cuttlebone. They have eight suckered arms and two tentacles and ar ...

endemic to the open ocean off

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

as well as eastern and south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. ''I. merlini'' was discovered along with ''

Iridoteuthis lophia ''Iridoteuthis'' is a genus of bobtail squid comprising three species. They belong to the subfamily Heteroteuthinae of the family Sepiolidae. Species *'' Iridoteuthis iris'' (Berry, 1909) * '' Iridoteuthis lophia'' A. Reid, 2021 * '' Iridoteuthi ...

'' by Dr Amanda Reid in 2021. Her findings were published in

Zootaxa ''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week ...

Discovery

Reid discovered ''Iridoteuthis merlini'' and ''Iridoteuthis lophia'' while studying '' Stoloteuthis maoria'' specimens in New Zealand. She discovered that they had been incorrectly described by Richard Dell in 1959, finding that the ''S. maoria'' specimens are actually squids from two different genera: ''

Iridoteuthis ''Iridoteuthis'' is a genus of bobtail squid comprising three species. They belong to the subfamily Heteroteuthinae of the family Sepiolidae. Species *'' Iridoteuthis iris'' (Berry, 1909) * '' Iridoteuthis lophia'' A. Reid, 2021 * '' Iridoteuthi ...

'' and '' Stauroteuthis''. ''I. merlini'' was named in honour of academic Professor Merlin Crossley, deputy vice chancellor of UNSW Sydney.

Bioluminescence

I. merlini stores phosphorescent bacteria in a special organ in its body. The squid can adjust the luminous intensity of itself, and can eject jets of the luminescent bacteria into the ocean to deter potential predators.

References

Bobtail squid Cephalopods described in 2021 {{sepiolida-stub