It might look like it might be but actually when the vampire squid is in a stage between youth and maturity, they grow an extra pair of fins. On the valdivia expedition they collected several of the four finned squids. When they started to revert into their two finned self, the ship men thought it was a new species.Pickford studied the "species" and later found out that it was the same species as the other squids. When the squid is born it's fins are closer to the legs. in the intermediate stage they grow another pair just above the first pair. The first pair is then dissolved later on in the life cycle leaving the last pair of fins.
Wood, James B. "Introducing Vampyroteuthis Infernalis-The Cephalopod Page." Octopus, Squid, Cuttlefish, and Nautilus-The Cephalopod Page. The Cephalopod Page(TCP), 2011. web. 03 May 2011. http://thecephalopodpage.org/vsfh.php
It is interesting that this squid has an extra pair of fins for a while. Does it need these to help it swim? I wonder if other squids have an extra set of fins when the go through the stage between youth and maturity?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking the same thing as gregg! I don't know if this is true but I heard human fetuses have some sort of gills in the womb. Some animals do more development after birth. Do you think this is the case with this squid? Just like humans lose their gills (if this is true and not a rumor) do the squid lose the fins later in development because is was anatomically needed for the previous ancestors?
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