Large, "Glamorous" New Glowing Squid Species Found
New species—perhaps one of several—reflects richness of sea mountains.
(See "Colossal Squid a Soft, Sluggish Drifter.")
The new species belongs to Chiroteuthidae, a group of slender squid in which light-producing organs run in the family. (Related: "Colossal Squid Has Glowing 'Cloaking Device,' Huge Eyes.")
"It's thought that this particular group of squid actually uses bioluminescence to lure in prey," which are thought to include small fish and crustaceans, said Alex Rogers, a conservation biologist at the University of Oxford in the U.K.
The new squid is just one of more than 70 squid species observed during a six-week research cruise that began in September 2009 but whose results are only now beginning to be released.
"In a single expedition, we sampled about a fifth of all the world's squid species
