Duobrachium sparksae

Sparks' two-armed ctenophore
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Ctenophora
Class:	Tentaculata
Order:	Cydippida
Family:	Cydippida incertae sedis
Genus:	Duobrachium
Species:	D. sparksae
Binomial name
	Duobrachium sparksae; Ford, Bezio & Collins, 2020

Duobrachium sparksae is a species of comb jelly (ctenophore) in the order Cydippida.[1]

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.[2][3] It was first discovered in a canyon at a depth of 3,910 metres (12,830 ft) to the north west of the Puerto Rican coast in April 2015.[1][2][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 30–56 centimetres (12–22 in) long. The animals use these to adhere to the seafloor.[1]

References

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. doi:10.3800/pbr.15.296. ISSN 1880-8247.
Lauren M. Johnson. "NOAA scientists discover a new species of a gelatinous animal in the waters near Puerto Rico". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-29.
Oliver Milman (1 December 2020). "Scientists identify deep-sea blob as new species using only video". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
Fisheries, NOAA (2020-11-20). "NOAA Scientists Virtually Discover New Species of Comb Jelly Near Puerto Rico | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2020-11-29.

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[:1-1] 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. doi:10.3800/pbr.15.296. ISSN 1880-8247.

[:0-2] Lauren M. Johnson. "NOAA scientists discover a new species of a gelatinous animal in the waters near Puerto Rico". CNN. Retrieved 2020-11-29.

[Guardian-3] Oliver Milman (1 December 2020). "Scientists identify deep-sea blob as new species using only video". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 December 2020.

[4] Fisheries, NOAA (2020-11-20). "NOAA Scientists Virtually Discover New Species of Comb Jelly Near Puerto Rico | NOAA Fisheries". NOAA. Retrieved 2020-11-29.