{"id":14196,"date":"2022-06-23T17:00:25","date_gmt":"2022-06-23T15:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sciencefocus.com\/?p=122337"},"modified":"2022-06-23T17:18:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-23T15:18:13","slug":"vampire-squid-ancestor-was-likely-a-voracious-predator","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcsciencefocus\/rss_feed\/vampire-squid-ancestor-was-likely-a-voracious-predator\/","title":{"rendered":"Vampire squid ancestor was likely a voracious predator"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Jason Goodyer\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 23 June 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Despite their intimidating moniker, modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis<\/em>) lead a pretty laid-back life. They potter around in the deep ocean feeding on drifting organic matter that they catch using sticky cells that cover their long, slender tentacles.<\/p>\n

Their Jurassic ancestor, Vampyronassa rhodanica<\/em>, however, was a different story altogether. V. rhodanica<\/em> were most likely aggressive predators<\/a> that actively stalked the deep ocean in search of prey, a study carried out by researchers at Sorbonne University has found.<\/p>\n

To make the discovery, the team produced high-resolution 3D scans of three well-preserved V. rhodanica<\/em> specimens found in La Voulte-sur-Rh\u00f4ne in southern France, and compared them to scans of extant V. infernalis<\/em> specimens scanned at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.<\/p>\n

The specimens date back more than 164 million years, are around 10 cm long, and have elongated oval-shaped bodies accented by two small fins.<\/p>\n

Fossils of V. rhodanica<\/em> are incredibly rare as, like their modern-day counterparts, their bodies are largely formed of soft tissue.<\/p>\n

The scans revealed that the suckers that lined each of animals\u2019 eight arms and the spine-like fleshy protrusions, known as cirri, that run along the inside of the arms, were much more robust in V. rhodanica<\/em> compared to V. Infernalis<\/em>. They also found that the shape of V. rhodanica\u2019s<\/em> arm crown \u2013 the structure that forms the base of its arms \u2013 was a different shape.<\/p>\n

This suggests that V. rhodanica<\/em> was an active predatory hunter that used its arms to clamp onto their prey before devouring it, the researchers say.<\/p>\n

Like V. infernalis<\/em>, however, the suckers of V. rhodanica<\/em> were unlikely to be toothed like many modern species of squid.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe that the morphology and placement of V. rhodanica<\/em> suckers and cirri in the differentiated arm crown allowed V. rhodanica<\/em> increased suction and sensory potential over the modern form, and helped them to manipulate and retain prey,\u201d said lead researcher Alison Rowe<\/a>.<\/p>\n