Miracle lamps
| Miracle lamps | ||||||||||||
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Lycoteuthis lorigera |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Lycoteuthis | ||||||||||||
| Pepper , 1900 |
The miracle lamps ( Lycoteuthis ) are a genus of very small cephalopods and inhabit the deep sea . Two types of magic lamp are currently accepted: Lycoteuthis springeri and Lycoteuthis lorigera . Their closest relatives are in all likelihood the giant squids (Architeuthidae), with whom they share a number of traits. Both groups are mostly classified with the squids, but following a different hypothesis they are compared to all other ten-armed squids as a sister group .
The animals live in the deep sea up to 3000 meters deep, but it is assumed that they migrate vertically in the area of steeply sloping shelves .
features
The miracle lamps reach a maximum trunk length of 8 cm and are particularly characterized by their light organs , which they also owe their name to. They are equipped with it in different parts of their body, especially the well-known males wear these light sources on their coats and heads. The light from these photophores is produced by bioluminescence . The light organs are obviously used for camouflage , since the light effects make the body appear almost transparent, normally clear structures such as the eyes lose their sharp contours.
species
- Lycoteuthis springeri (Steenstrup, 1875)
- Lycoteuthis lorigera Voss, 1956
source
- Vecchione, Michael, & Richard E. Young. 2008: Lycoteuthis pepper, 1900. in The Tree of Life Web Project
