A vampire squid surrounded by marine snow is captured on movie throughout a dive on the E/V Nautilus. Picture credit score: Ocean Exploration Belief
The vampire squid is a small ( 12-inch-long ) cephalopod present in deep temperate and tropical seas. Initially considered an octopus as a result of it lacks the 2 lengthy tentacles that normally lengthen previous a squid’s eight arms, the vampire squid possesses traits of each squid and octopi, and occupies its personal order in taxonomy (scientific classification).
Its enormous, vibrant blue eyes — proportionally the biggest within the animal kingdom — darkish colour, and the velvety, cloak-like webbing that connects its arms give the vampire squid its widespread title. Its scientific title, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, actually means “vampire squid of Hell”! Whereas it doesn’t suck blood like its legendary namesake, the vampire squid is a “residing relic” that developed from an ancestor of the octopus, and its lineage goes again 165 million years within the fossil file.
The vampire squid is an extremophile, inhabiting the darkish ocean depths from 2,000-3,000 ft . If threatened, this defensive deep-sea Dracula does not eject ink, as do most of its cephalopod cousins. Nor can it change colour to confuse intruders the best way its shallow-water cousins can; residing because it does in the deep ocean, the place little mild penetrates, color-changing is a pointless technique. As a substitute, the vampire squid squirts a copious cloud of sticky, bioluminescent mucus towards would-be predators (and the occasional analysis ROV). Ewww!
A payara, generally known as a “vampire fish.” Picture credit score: Unique Fish Wikia
On the freshwater facet, the vampire fish is a nickname for the payara, an considerable gamefish discovered within the Amazon Basin. Whereas this massive, 1.5-to-3 foot fish doesn’t suck the blood of its prey, its six-inch-long fangs, which protrude from an undershot jaw, end in a face solely a (payara) mom might love.
In recent times, the payara has gained reputation as an occupant in massive, “aggressive” freshwater aquariums. Stay goldfish are amongst this fangy predator’s favourite prey. Consequently, aquarists are suggested to pick out tankmates too huge to suit inside this vampire’s saber-toothed maw!