Vampire squid

흡혈오징어

Despite its name it is neither a vampire nor a true squid, but a distant relative of both squid and octopuses living in dark, low-oxygen water 600 to 1,200 m deep. About 30 cm long, it flips its arms over like a cloak and spews glowing mucus to escape.

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At a glance

Class: Molluscs
Habitat: deep sea

Quick answers

Where does the Vampire squid live?

It lives in deep sea of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.

The vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, is a small deep-sea animal found in temperate and tropical oceans around the world. The name means 'vampire squid from hell', but it is neither a vampire nor a true squid. Its closest relatives are octopuses, and it is the only surviving member of its own order, Vampyromorphida.

It lives in the dark, low-oxygen water far below the surface, around 600 to 1,200 metres deep, and has glowing light organs. Scientists first collected it on the German Valdivia Expedition of 1898 to 1899, and it was described as an octopus in 1903. Because it lives so deep, people rarely see it alive, and much of what we know comes from a few specimens and from deep-sea cameras.

What does it eat?

Despite its scary name, the vampire squid does not drink blood. It eats drifting bits of dead material, often called marine snow, falling from the water above. Two long, thread-like filaments help it collect the particles.

Its body uses oxygen very efficiently, which lets it live in places where few other animals can. It also has a pair of ear-like fins and bright blue eyes, according to the Korean description, and rows of spines along its arms.

How does it escape enemies?

When it is threatened, it flips its webbed arms back over its body like a cloak, showing rows of soft spines. Instead of squirting dark ink, which would be hard to see in the dark, it can release glowing mucus.

It is covered in light-producing organs that can flash, which may confuse a predator for a short time. It drifts slowly in the dark, so saving energy matters more than speed.

Fun facts

Unlike other cephalopods it does not hunt; it feeds on "marine snow", drifting bits of dead matter.
Its scientific name means 'vampire squid from hell', yet it eats drifting dead matter instead of blood.
It is the only living member of its order, so it is a kind of living fossil relative.
Instead of black ink, it squirts glowing mucus.