By Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University
December 4, 2023
Lively forest fey
The scientific names of the 2 brand-new types take inspiration from Japanese folklore, owing to their appearance and habits. The Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid, Idiosepius kijimuna, is named after the brief, red-haired forest fairies that are stated to reside in the banyan trees of Okinawa. Like their name, the squids are small, function red pigmentation, and spend many of their time in their forest environment, connected to plants in shallow seagrass beds near the coast.
Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid, photographed in the wild. Credit: Shawn Miller
Hannans Pygmy Squid, Kodama jujutsu, is a freshly found types within a whole new genus. The Kodama genus is named after the round-headed spirits that allegedly reside in ancient trees, whose presence indicate a healthy forest.
The perhaps unusual types name of jujutsu mentions the preying behavior of the squid, which looks like the Japanese martial art: “Jiu-jitsu focuses on grappling and using your challengers strength, and the Kodama jujutsu preys on shrimp bigger than itself by grappling with its small arms”, states Jeffrey Jolly from the Marine Climate Change Unit at OIST, who co-authored the paper detailing the discovery of the two species in the Journal Marine Biology. The squid has also been observed with its arms raised and curled above its head, reminiscent of a martial arts present.
Needles in a haystack
Discovering the squids was no easy accomplishment. Both types live up to their names, as they really are minuscule– the biggest specimen took a look at measured simply 12 millimeters in length, much shorter than a sewing needle.
Contributing to this, both types are just active at night, and the Ryukyuan only appears in winter. Even then, this species has actually been captured and (improperly) identified sometimes previously, being discovered in the fairly available, shallow seagrass beds. This is in contrast to the more elusive Hannans, which is only discovered in coral reefs, where, as Jeffrey Jolly puts it, “there are a lot of other things to take a look at, that finding a little squid the size of a pinky fingernail is not easy”, even for experienced ocean photographers.
Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid (Idiosepius kijimuna) connected to a blade of seagrass, photographed in the wild. Credit: Brandon Ryan Hannan
The discovery and documentation of the 2 species were enabled through collaboration between researchers and underwater photographers. Jeffrey Jolly at first began his deal with cataloging the types in the Molecular Genetics Unit at OIST, and the task spanned scientists from both systems, as well as from Australian universities.
It is especially the work of underwater professional photographers and biologists Shawn Miller, Keishu Asada, and Brandon Ryan Hannan, who Kodama jujutsu takes its typical name after, that made the research study possible, as their photos kickstarted the preliminary interest in cataloging the types.
Ecologies under risk
Like their legendary namesakes, these pygmy squids are thoroughly connected with their natural environments in the emerald waters of Okinawa. These environments are, regrettably, under threat from human activity, particularly due to environment modification heating up the ocean waters, which may cause coral whitening. Overfishing, land improvement, and soil runoff likewise threaten the underwater homes of the animals, no matter how big or small they may be.
For Jeffrey Jolly, this is among the lots of reasons the science of taxonomy remains important: “Taxonomy is not as fancy as other sciences, but through naming and defining species, it both highlights the fantastic diversity of life in the oceans, and it is a pointer that there is a lot that we do not understand yet.”
Reference: “Two brand-new pygmy squids, Idiosepius kijimuna n. sp. and Kodama jujutsu n. gen., n. sp. (Cephalopoda: Idiosepiidae) from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan” by Amanda Reid, Noriyosi Sato, Jeffrey Jolly and Jan Strugnell, 21 October 2023, Marine Biology.DOI: 10.1007/ s00227-023-04305-1.
Hannans Pygmy Squid (Kodama jujutsu) with raised arms, photographed in the wild. Credit: Brandon Ryan Hannan
In the seaside waters of the Okinawa Islands, researchers have actually found 2 types of cephalopods, called in honor of traditional Japanese folklore.
The underwater landscapes near Okinawa, a Japanese sub-tropical island chain, are among Earths many diverse environments. Boasting over 360 kinds of coral, these delicate and dynamic marine gardens support a myriad of animal species.
Now, researchers from Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), along with other universities in Japan and Australia, have gained ground in cataloging this abundance of life by explaining two brand-new types of pygmy squid– the Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid (clinical name Idiosepius kijimuna, Ryukyu-himeika1 in Japanese) and Hannans Pygmy Squid (Kodama jujutsu, Tsuno-himeika).
The clinical names of the two new types take motivation from Japanese folklore, owing to their appearance and behavior. The Ryukyuan Pygmy Squid, Idiosepius kijimuna, is called after the brief, red-haired forest fairies that are said to live in the banyan trees of Okinawa. Like their namesake, the squids are tiny, feature red coloration, and spend most of their time in their forest environment, attached to vegetation in shallow seagrass beds close to the coast.
Like their legendary namesakes, these pygmy squids are intimately linked with their natural environments in the emerald waters of Okinawa. Reference: “Two new pygmy squids, Idiosepius kijimuna n. sp.
