- The new species of pygmy squid belongs to the genus Idiosepius, a group of tiny, squid-like marine animals that are believed to be the world’s smallest cephalopods.
- Researchers have named the new species Idiosepius hallami, or Hallam’s pygmy squid after Australian malacologist Amanda Reid’s son, Hallam, who helped her collect live animals for further comparisons.
- Pygmy squids are generally found in shallow waters among seagrass and mangroves, some of the most threatened marine habitats.
Scientists have just described a new species of “pygmy squid” the size of a thumbnail.
The tiny marine creature is not a true squid, though. Rather, it belongs to a group of squid-like animals believed to be the world’s smallest cephalopods, the family of marine creatures that includes octopuses, squid and cuttlefish. Pygmy squids, currently represented by the genus Idiosepius, grow to about 2 centimeters (0.8 inches) in body length (not including the head, arms and tentacles).
Cephalopod expert Amanda Reid first encountered the new species of Idiosepiuswhile going through preserved specimens of pygmy squids at the Australian Museum Research Institute (AMRI) in Sydney, researchers report in a new study published in Zootaxa. She found that a number of specimens from eastern Australia did not look like the other known pygmy squids, and some specimens had been misidentified.=READ MORE
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