Vampire+Squid

The **vampire squid** is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. The vampire squid is in the family of Vampyromorphida, share similarities with both squid and octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict it is the only known surviving member of its family, first classified as an octopus in 1903 by German scientist Carl Chun, but later moved to a new family. ** Physical Features ** The vampire squid reaches a maximum length of 1 ft. Its jelly-like body varies in color between jet-black and pinkish, depending on location and lighting conditions. A webbing of skin(like frogs) connects its eight arms, each with rows of spikes or cirri. Only the tentacles farthest from the body have suckers. Its round eyes, which are red or blue, are the largest eyes in the animal kingdom at 1 inch in diameter, compared to its body size. The Vampire Squid is almost entirely covered in photophores which makes the vampire squid bioluminsecent. The photophores are small white discs, and are larger and more complicated at the tips of the arms and at the the two fins. Two larger white photophores are on top of its head. The vampire squid is not able to change color like other octopuses, but can turn inside out.
 * Basic Information **

**Habitat and Defenses** The vampire squid lives in depths from 2,000-3,000 feet or more. To survive in these waters, vampire squids have evolved defenses. Like many deep-sea cephalopods, Vampire Squid don't have any ink sacs. If threatened, the vampire squid shoots out sticky bioluminescent mucus(just like the hagfish). This squirting may last nearly 10 minutes. It is meant to daze predators and allow the Vampire Squid to disappear into the blackness without very far. This only happens if the animal is very agitated; making the mucus is costly because it takes so much energy, and in these dark depths, the vampire squid needs a lot of energy to eat and avoid harmful predators.

** Reproduction ** The vampire squid reproduces slowly and only produces a small number of large eggs. Maturing is slow because nutrients are not found a lot at depths of 3,000 ft. The vastness of their habitat and its little population makes encounters very rare. The female vampire squid can store a male's sperm for long periods before she is ready to fertilize her eggs. Once the female vampire squid does, she will need to brood them for up to 400 days before they hatch. The female will not eat when she is pregnant and dies shortly after the babies are born. Hatchlings are 8 mm in length and miniatures of the adults, with some differences. Their arms don't have webbing, their eyes are smaller and their mucus sacs aren't fully formed. The hatchlings are transparent and survive on a internal yolk for an unknown period before they begin to actively feed. The smaller animals are more abundant in much deeper waters, perhaps feeding on marine snow (falling organic detritus).

media type="youtube" key="IWAnliNc6wk" height="349" width="560" align="left" **Behavior** In a threat response called "pumpkin" or "pineapple posture", the Vampire Squid inverts its caped arms back over the body, presenting an ostensibly larger form covered in fearsome-looking though harmless spines called cirri. The underside of the cape is heavily pigmented, masking most of the body's photophores. The glowing arm tips are clustered together far above the animal's head, diverting attack away from critical areas. If a predator were to bite off an arm tip, the Vampire Squid can regenerate it. Copepods, prawns and cnidarians have all been reported as prey of Vampire Squid. Little else is known regarding their feeding habits, but considering their environment, they are likely to be opportunists. Vampire Squid have been found among the stomach contents of large deepwater fish, deep diving whales, and pinnipeds such as sea lions.

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