News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
Pygmy ’ s progress
Protected Wrecks filmed
3D model solves U-boat debate
ENVIRONMENT
Protect Our Seas
News and views from the world of marine heritage and conservation
Idiosepius kijimuna
Pygmy ’ s progress
Two new species of pygmy squid have been discovered off Okinawa and named after mythical creatures . These cephalopods , which are smaller than paper clips , find refuge in the coral beds and seagrass fields of Okinawa and take their names from fairies in Japanese folklore and martial arts . The newly discovered creatures were described
Kodama jujutsu
in a study published last month in the journal Marine Biology . The Ryukyuan pygmy squid , Idiosepius kijimuna , derives its species name from a mythical creature in Okinawan folklore . The second species , Hannan ’ s pygmy squid Kodama jujutsu , takes its name from underwater photographer Brandan Ryan Hannan . This species represents a whole new genus , Kodama , also named after a mythical being .
PHOTOS : BRANDON RYAN HANNAN
Protected Wrecks filmed
Historic England commissioned MSDS Marine and Michael Pitts to produce a series of films to celebrate 50 years of Protected Wreck sites . The films draw on Michael ’ s extensive film archive as well as new footage to showcase protected wreck sites . It includes a new letter from Buckingham Palace recognising the significant contribution diving volunteers have made on the wrecks over the last 50 years . The film is now available to watch in chapters at http :// tinyurl . com / protwrecks
3D model solves U-boat debate
A German U-boat from World War One is likely to have been scuttled rather than being handed to the Allies , according to Scottish researchers . UC-71 struck fear into seafarers throughout World War One after sinking more than 60 ships during her reign of terror in the North Sea . However , after meeting her own grave in the aftermath of the conflict , questions have remained as to how the sub met her fate , including claims
that she had been deliberately scuttled . Utilising world-leading expertise and state of the art technology , Professor Chris Rowland , an expert in the 3D visualisation of underwater environments at Dundee ’ s Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design , and Professor Kari Hyttinen , an expert in Communication Design , believe they can confirm what happened to the vessel moments before it made its final descent . “ Hatches are certainly open across the submarine , which corroborates the claim that it was deliberately sunk ,” said Professor Rowland .
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UC-71 PROF CHRIS ROWLAND / PROF KARI HYTTINEN / UNIVERSITY OF DUNDEE