Kiss of the Vampire Squid
By Mary Jane Schramm
Silently, it drifted, carried by the sluggish, icy current through utter blackness. It encountered neither prey nor predator, for few life forms survive in the hostile deep-sea environment. Indeed, only the occasional giant grenadier-ratfish, Humboldt squid, seal, or sperm whale ever troubled its existence. But, suddenly, the creature became “trapped” in the blazing lights of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) tethered to a research vessel nearly 3,000 feet above.
The strange, football-shaped animal’s sapphire eyes, transfixed, glowed brightly, its eight stubby tentacles trailing behind. Abruptly, the webbed arms swept outward and over its head and mantle, cloaking them in concealing black as it sprinted away from the intense cone of light into the semi-dark; it was curious. To the chortling glee of scientists in the ship’s control van, an encounter with the rarely seen Vampyroteuthis infernalis - “the Vampire Squid from Hell” - was just beginning.
© MBARI.
Known to science for just over a century, the vampire squid remains little studied. Research entities, notably the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other groups, using remote technology, have gleaned information bit by bit, and pieced together a fascinating profile of this deep sea phenomenon.
DISPELLING THE MYTHS: The name “Vampire squid” is a double misnomer: it neither sucks blood nor is a squid. Though the octopus is its closest kin, V. infernalis is more ancient than both: it is a living fossil whose lineage dates back 165 million years. It is the single extant species in its unique order,"Vampyromorphida,” a compact cephalopod (squids, octopuses and nautiluses), a foot long and weighing only about a pound. Its skin color ranges from purple-black to blood red, its eyes a glowing bright blue or intense red. Its eight arms are webbed, with suckers only on their far ends, and which are lined with fleshy, tooth-shaped spines called cirri.
HOME, DEEP HOME: The vampire squid occupies tropical and temperate regions of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans. Locally, it ranges north to around Cape Mendocino, CA, found primarily at depths from 2,000 ft. to at least 8,200 ft. in water temperatures just above freezing. Water pressure here is extreme, in what is called the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ). But its body density is like that of jellies, immune to the crushing pressure.
NOT-SO-FAST FOOD: As voracious sea-monsters go, V. infernalis is mostly bluff. It combines scavenging with a relatively passive approach to predation. Researcher Bruce Robison of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) has found that, although it may occasionally capture small floating prey like shrimp, engulfing it in its webbed arms, it primarily trolls with its two long, highly sensitized sticky filaments for bits of “marine snow” - nutritious organic matter that rains down continuously onto the sea floor. (Recipe: decomposing dead things, the poop of living things, and their mucosal excreta).
ENERGY EFFICIENCY: Its extremely low metabolic rate and lack of predators allows an energy-efficient lifestyle. But, when threatened, V. infernalis can only sprint a short distance; it defends itself in place by swimming erratically, or inverting its webbed “cape” over its head and mantle, exposing barb-shaped but innocuous projections called cirri in the "pineapple posture.” Fearsome to behold, but it’s all an act.
THE SHINING: Unlike other cephalopods, this “squid” doesn’t squirt ink: instead, it spurts a glowing mass of bioluminescence. Also, its body has photophores, light-emitting organs that can shine and blink as needed, including from its waving arm-tips, to confuse its attackers.
SAFE, FOR NOW?: Though neither listed as threatened nor endangered, it may be impacted by marine pollution, oil exploration and development, climate disruption, noise pollution, and other human impacts.
LEARN MORE: MBARI offers several videos on this little-studied creature. See https://youtu.be/5J8eTT8xvaQ Also, the nonprofit group Oceana offers an excellent short video on this unique creature; see https://youtu.be/tdXe49aY6xQ.
Photo Credits:
Top: © MBARI. Our thanks to Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
Lower: Marine snow—particles of decaying matter—rains down, constant sustenance for the filter feeders. Ocean Exploration Trust-NOAA.
