Duobrachium Explained

Duobrachium is a monotypic genus of comb jellies belonging to the order Cydippida, family unknown. The only species is Duobrachium sparksae.

Discovery

It was discovered and identified based only on video footage of three specimens after being observed by the Deep Discoverer robotic vehicle, operated by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.[1] [2] It was first discovered in a canyon at a depth of 3910m (12,830feet) to the north west of the Puerto Rican coast in April 2015.[3] [4]

Physical characteristics

The animal has a rectangular shape when viewed in the tentacular plane, but oval from the perpendicular plane. It has two long tentacle arms which protrude from the centre of the sides of the body, and extend downwards. These are about a third as long as the body. These arms encase retractable tentacles which are approximately NaNcm (-2,147,483,648inches) long. The animals use these to adhere to the seafloor.

References

  1. Web site: Lauren M. Johnson. NOAA scientists discover a new species of a gelatinous animal in the waters near Puerto Rico. 2020-11-29. CNN.
  2. News: Scientists identify deep-sea blob as new species using only video . Oliver Milman . . 1 December 2020 . 1 December 2020.
  3. Ford. Michael. Bezio. Nicholas. Collins. Allen. 2020-11-18. Duobrachium sparksae (incertae sedis Ctenophora Tentaculata Cydippida): A new genus and species of benthopelagic ctenophore seen at 3,910 m depth off the coast of Puerto Rico. Plankton and Benthos Research. 15. 4. 296–305. 10.3800/pbr.15.296. 1880-8247. free.
  4. Web site: Fisheries. NOAA. 2020-11-20. NOAA Scientists Virtually Discover New Species of Comb Jelly Near Puerto Rico NOAA Fisheries. 2020-11-29. NOAA. en.