Vampyronassa
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| Vampyronassa Temporal range: Middle Jurassic | |
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| Pyritized fossil of Vampyronassa rhodanica from Voulte-sur-Rhône, France. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Mollusca |
| Class: | Cephalopoda |
| Order: | Vampyromorphida |
| Family: | Vampyroteuthidae |
| Genus: | †Vampyronassa Fischer & Riou, 2002 |
| Species: | †V. rhodanica |
| Binomial name | |
| †Vampyronassa rhodanica Fischer & Riou, 2002 | |
Vampyronassa rhodanica ("vampire fish trap") is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of La Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France.
Morphology
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Photograph (a) and X-ray CT analysed image (b)-(e) of holotype specimen
Vampyronassa reached total length about 10 cm (3.9 in). This taxon differs from the modern vampire squid in having longer first dorsal arms, a larger hyponome, and a more elongated mantle. The original description noted possible luminous organs which a restudy could not confirm. It had eight arms with uniserial suckers flanked by cirri, same as modern vampire squid. Retractile filaments that is known from modern vampire squid is not known in Vampyronassa. Like vampire squid, Vampyronassa lacked an ink sac.
Classification
Vampyronassa shares some characters with modern vampire squid Vampyroteuthis, such as lack of ink sac and unique type of sucker attachment. Analysis supports the sister relationship between Vampyronassa and Vampyroteuthis.
Palaeoecology
Life reconstruction of V. rhodanica
Although modern vampire squid are deep-sea opportunistic detritivore and zooplanktivore, Vampyronassa is estimated to have been an active predator following a pelagic mode of life according to characteristics of its arms. Considering Oligocene vampyromorph Necroteuthis probably had a deep-sea mode of life, initial shift of vampiromorphs to offshore environments was possibly driven by onshore competition.
References
- ^ a b Fischer, Jean-Claude; Riou, Bernard (2002-01-01). "Vampyronassa rhodanica nov. gen. nov sp., vampyromorphe (Cephalopoda, Coleoidea) du Callovien inférieur de la Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France)". Annales de Paléontologie (in French). 88 (1): 1–17. Bibcode:2002AnPal..88....1F. doi:10.1016/S0753-3969(02)01037-6. ISSN 0753-3969.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Rowe, Alison J.; Kruta, Isabelle; Landman, Neil H.; Villier, Loïc; Fernandez, Vincent; Rouget, Isabelle (2022-06-23). "Exceptional soft-tissue preservation of Jurassic Vampyronassa rhodanica provides new insights on the evolution and palaeoecology of vampyroteuthids". Scientific Reports. 12 (1): 8292. Bibcode:2022NatSR..12.8292R. doi:10.1038/s41598-022-12269-3. ISSN 2045-2322. PMC 9225997. PMID 35739131.
- ^ Košťák, Martin; Schlögl, Ján; Fuchs, Dirk; Holcová, Katarína; Hudáčková, Natalia; Culka, Adam; Fözy, István; Tomašových, Adam; Milovský, Rastislav; Šurka, Juraj; Mazuch, Martin (2021-02-18). "Fossil evidence for vampire squid inhabiting oxygen-depleted ocean zones since at least the Oligocene". Communications Biology. 4 (1): 216. doi:10.1038/s42003-021-01714-0. ISSN 2399-3642. PMC 7893013. PMID 33603225.