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| Vampyrofugiens atramentum Rowe, Kruta, Villier & Rouget. 2023 DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1511 (Artwork by A. Lethiers, CR2P) |
Abstract
Eight coleoid genera have so far been described from the Callovian-aged La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte (c. 165 Ma; Ardèche, France), a locality noted for its unique three-dimensional preservation of soft tissues. Here, we used high resolution x-ray-based imaging methods, in conjunction with reflectance transformation imaging, to study the soft tissues of a previously undescribed coleoid from the La Voulte-sur-Rhône locality. This analysis identified both an ink sac and internal light organs, a combination of defence mechanisms present in the Recent, although not previously described from the coleoid fossil record, as well as the presence of Octobrachia-type arm musculature and Vampyroteuthis-like sucker attachments. The morphology of the gladius could not be attributed to any known coleoids and therefore justified the assignment of this single specimen to a new taxon: Vampyrofugiens atramentum. The addition of this new vampyromorph species not only increases the coleoid diversity known from the site, but also broadens the morphological variation observed in the co-occurring coleoid taxa. These findings suggest that there was a high diversity of cephalopods occupying differentiated communities during the Middle Jurassic.
Keywords: soft-tissue preservation, Vampyromorpha, synchrotron microtomography, reflectance transformation imaging, coleoid, La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte
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| Vampyrofugiens atramentum gen. et sp. nov. Photograph, 3D rendering, and PPC-SR-μCT slices (binned dataset, voxel size: 25.28 μm) of the undescribed specimen (MNHN.F.A32491) acquired at the ESRF (Grenoble, France). A, photograph (P. Loubry, CR2P) of the specimen showing the 3D preservation of the mineralized soft tissue. B, composite of PPC-SR-μCT slices showing the greyscale contrast used to segment the specimen. C, 3D rendering showing the location of the fins (beige), ink sac (teal) and internal luminous organs (pink). D, longitudinal slice showing the location of the funnel, and an area interpreted to be remnants of the gladius in longitudinal view. Rendered in Mimics software (v.21.0). Scale bars represent: 10 mm (A–B); 2 mm (D). |
SYSTEMATIC PALAEONTOLOGY
Superorder OCTOBRACHIA Haeckel, 1866
Order VAMPYROMORPHA Robson, 1929
Suborder LOLIGOSEPIINA Jeletzky, 1965
Family GEOPELTIDAE Regteren Altena, 1949
Genus VAMPYROFUGIENS nov.
Derivation of name: The name Vampyrofugiens is composed of the original Serbian word Vampir and the Latin fugiens (fleeing) to reflect the escape behaviours of this new vampyromorph taxon.
Vampyrofugiens atramentum sp. nov.
Derivation of the name: The species name atramentum (Latin word for ink) is assigned and reflects the occurrence of an ink sac.
Diagnosis: Mantle bullet-shaped; arm length moderate (arm length : mantle length ratio of 0.6 although the distal tips are not preserved), no elongated arm pair; suckers radially symmetrical, uniserial, sucker rings absent; cirri biserial; head dorsally fused with mantle; ink sac present; luminous organs present internally; fins subterminal.
Type locality: La Voulte-sur-Rhône, France.
Type horizon: Middle Jurassic (Lower Callovian), gracilis Biozone.
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| Hypothesized reconstruction of Vampyrofugiens atramentum gen. et sp. nov. based on the data from this study (Artwork by A. Lethiers, CR2P) |
CONCLUSION:
The use of high-resolution imaging techniques, PPC-SR-μCT and RTI, provides new observational data on the soft tissues, internal organs and gladius of an unpublished vampyromorph specimen (MNHN.F.A32491) from La Voulte-sur-Rhône.
The imaging shows that the individual had an Octobrachia-type arm configuration and musculature, Vampyroteuthis-like sucker attachments, an ink sac, and two internal light organs with anterior–posterior symmetry. The combination of the ink sac and internal luminous organs is known from the Recent, although not from fossil coleoids. Additionally, the observed gladius morphology in MNHN.F.A32491 differs from previously described coleoids and therefore justifies the assignment of this individual to a new taxon, Vampyrofugiens atramentum gen. et sp. nov.
Alison J. Rowe, Isabelle Kruta, Loïc Villier and Isabelle Rouget. 2023. A New vampyromorph Species from the Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte. Papers in Palaeontology. 9(3); e1511. DOI: 10.1002/spp2.1511
