Morlockia atlantida is a species of eyeless crustacean in the order Nectiopoda. It was discovered in August 2009 in the Túnel de la Atlántida, the world's longest submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands off the west coast of North Africa. Originally named Speleonectes atlantida, it was transferred to genus Morlockia in 2012.[2] Like other remipedes, the species is equipped with venomous fangs.[3]
| Morlockia atlantida | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Remipedia |
| Order: | Nectiopoda |
| Family: | Morlockiidae |
| Genus: | Morlockia |
| Species: | M. atlantida
|
| Binomial name | |
| Morlockia atlantida (Koenemann et al., 2009) [1]
| |
Description
editMorlockia atlantida is approximately 20 millimetres (0.8 in) long. Like most other remipedes, the species lacks eyes and is hermaphroditic. Adapted to life in caves, the long antennae sprouting from its head and the presence of sensory hairs along its body allow the crustacean to feel its way along the dark tunnel.[4]
The species is equipped with venom-injecting fangs,[3] a feature unique to class Remipedia among crustaceans.[5]
Discovery
editDuring a cave diving expedition to explore the Túnel de la Atlántida, the world's longest known submarine lava tube on Lanzarote in the Canary Islands, an international team of scientists and cave divers discovered the previously unknown species of remipede crustacean, along with two new species of annelid worms of the class Polychaeta.[4] The new species was originally placed in genus Speleonectes and family Speleonectidae, but was later transferred to genus Morlockia in family Morlockiidae.[2] The species was named after the tunnel it was found in.[3][5] It is morphologically very similar to Morlockia ondinae, a remipede that has been known from the same lava tube since 1985, but DNA comparison studies proved that it is a second species.[3] The divergence of the two species may have occurred after the formation of the 6 km (3.7 mi) lava tube during an eruption of the Monte Corona volcano some 20,000 years ago.[3]
References
edit
- ^ Stefan Koenemann; Armin Bloechl; Alejandro Martínez; Thomas M. Iliffe; Mario Hoenemann & Pedro Oromí (2009). "A new, disjunct species of Speleonectes (Remipedia, Crustacea) from the Canary Islands". Marine Biodiversity. 39 (3): 215–225. Bibcode:2009MarBd..39..215K. doi:10.1007/s12526-009-0021-8. S2CID 31046374.
- ^ a b WoRMS. "Morlockia atlantida (Koenemann, Bloechl, Martinez, Iliffe, Hoenemann & Oromí, 2009)". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b c d e "New Species of Crustacean Discovered Near Canary Islands". Science Daily. 25 August 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2009.
- ^ a b Jeanna Bryner (25 August 2009). "Eyeless Creature Discovered in Undersea Tunnel". LiveScience. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.
- ^ a b Christine Dell'Amore (26 August 2009). "Photo: New Eyeless Crustacean Found in Underwater Cave". National Geographic News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 29 August 2009.