日本沖繩的熱帶水域發(fā)現(xiàn)短尾烏賊新物種

Bobtail squid, the mysterious and googly-eyed cousins of cuttlefish, have a new member in their gang. Don't be fooled by these cephalopods' dashingly cute looks, they've also got the brains to match.

短尾烏賊是墨魚的近親，有著神秘而又神秘的眼睛。不要被這些頭足類動(dòng)物可愛的外表所迷惑，它們也有與之相配的大腦。

The new species of bobtail squid was recently discovered in the tropical waters of Okinawa in Japan, as described in the journal Communications Biology.

正如《通訊生物學(xué)》(Communications Biology)雜志所描述的那樣，這一新物種的短尾烏賊最近在日本沖繩的熱帶水域被發(fā)現(xiàn)。

The species has been named Euprymna brenneri in honor of the late Dr Sydney Brenner, one of the founders of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), whose lab team helped to identify the animal.

這一物種被命名為Euprymna brenneri，以紀(jì)念已故的Sydney Brenner博士。Sydney Brenner博士是沖繩縣理工學(xué)院研究生院(OIST)的創(chuàng)始人之一，他的實(shí)驗(yàn)室團(tuán)隊(duì)幫助識別了這種動(dòng)物。

Dr Brenner was best known as a molecular geneticist whose research into a tiny nematode worm led to critical insights into genetics and human disease, however, Brenner was also a huge fan of cephalopods – and who could blame him? He was also a friend and mentor to many members of the team that made this new discovery.

布倫納博士最著名的身份是分子遺傳學(xué)家，他對一種微小的線蟲的研究為遺傳學(xué)和人類疾病的研究帶來了重要的見解。他也是發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)新發(fā)現(xiàn)的團(tuán)隊(duì)中許多成員的朋友和導(dǎo)師。

“While Sydney Brenner was not involved directly in the discovery of this new species, he was an enthusiastic advocate for research in Okinawa and our group, and a big fan of cephalopods as ‘the first intelligent animals on the planet,’” Daniel Rokhsar, head of the Molecular Genetics Unit at OIST, told IFLScience.

Sydney Brenner“雖然沒有直接參與這個(gè)新物種的發(fā)現(xiàn),他是一個(gè)熱心提倡研究在沖繩和我們的團(tuán)隊(duì),和一個(gè)大風(fēng)扇的頭足類動(dòng)物的地球上第一個(gè)聰明的動(dòng)物,”丹尼爾?Rokhsar OIST分子遺傳學(xué)部門主管告訴IFLScience。

“Brenner initiated the first cephalopod genome-sequencing project, the California two-spot octopus, which we published together in 2015, and he was always fascinated by these animals and their distinctively organized yet comparably complex nervous system compared with our own vertebrate structure.”

“布倫納發(fā)起了第一個(gè)頭足類基因組測序項(xiàng)目，即我們在2015年共同發(fā)表的加州雙斑章魚，他一直對這些動(dòng)物以及它們獨(dú)特的組織方式以及與我們自己的脊椎動(dòng)物結(jié)構(gòu)相比相當(dāng)復(fù)雜的神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)著迷。”

Bobtails have many features that differentiate them from true squid and are actually more closely related to other kinds of cephalopods, such as cuttlefish. They are typically pretty small – between just 1 and 8 centimeters (0.4 and 3 inches) – and this one is no different, measuring in at just a few centimeters long.

短尾有許多特征使它區(qū)別于真正的烏賊，實(shí)際上它與其他種類的頭足類動(dòng)物，如墨魚，關(guān)系更密切。它們通常都很小——只有1到8厘米(0.4到3英寸)——這只也沒有什么不同，只有幾厘米長。

As the new study touches on, this new species of bobtail squid also has an intriguing relationship with luminescent bacteria. The new research shows that the bobtail has a pouch-like organ on its underside that’s filled with Vibrio fischeri bacteria. As nocturnal beings, the bobtails utilize the glow to camouflage themselves and stealthily hunt prey.

正如這項(xiàng)新研究所觸及的，這種新物種的短尾烏賊也與發(fā)光細(xì)菌有著有趣的關(guān)系。新的研究表明，短尾魚的底部有一個(gè)類似于袋子的器官，里面充滿了菲氏弧菌。作為夜行動(dòng)物，短尾魚利用發(fā)光來偽裝自己，并悄悄地捕食獵物。

More bobtail squid mysteries remain, however. The researchers started their study by looking for bobtail squid eggs around the coast of Okinawa, resulting in the discovery of two adults and three different types of eggs. To match them, they allowed the eggs to hatch and compared DNA sequences of hatchlings, eventually resulting in the identification of E. brenneri.

然而，更多的短尾烏賊之謎仍然存在。研究人員首先在沖繩海岸附近尋找短尾烏賊卵，結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)了兩種成年烏賊卵和三種不同類型的烏賊卵。為了匹配它們，他們讓這些卵孵化，并比較孵化出的小海龜?shù)腄NA序列，最終確定了E. brenneri。

However, the third egg type remains unaccounted for as they were unable to raise its hatchlings to maturity.

然而，第三種類型的蛋仍然沒有解釋，因?yàn)樗麄儫o法把它的孵化到成熟。