Vampire squid
Vampire squid
Invertebrate
A deep-sea creature that eats falling 'marine snow' with sticky filaments, turns itself inside out when threatened and can release glowing mucus.
A strange deep-sea cephalopod that looks like a cross between an octopus and a squid.
💡 Fun Facts
- Despite its name, it doesn't drink blood; it uses sticky filaments to catch falling 'marine snow' (dead plankton and poop).
- When threatened, it turns inside out, exposing rows of spiky-looking cirri on its arms to look intimidating.
- It can shoot a cloud of glowing blue bioluminescent mucus to confuse predators in the dark.
Name Story
Vampyroteuthis infernalis
means “the vampire squid from hell”
What does its name mean?
- Vampyroteuthis — vampire squid'vampire' + Greek teuthis 'squid'
- infernalis — of hell, infernalLatin
With a dark, cloak-like web between its arms and glowing reddish eyes, it was given one of the scariest names in all of zoology. But it is a gentle creature of the deep, dark ocean that eats nothing more frightening than 'marine snow' — the soft flakes of food drifting down from above.