Vampire Squid
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Mollusca Class: Cephalopoda Subclass: Coleoidea Superorder: Octopodiformes Order: Vampyromorphida Suborder: Vampyromorphina Family: Vampyroteuthidae Genus: Vampyroteuthis Chun, 1903 Species: V. infernalis
Binomial name
Vampyroteuthis infernalis Chun, 1903
Synonyms
Cirroteuthis macrope Berry, 1911 Vampyroteuthis macrope (Berry, 1911) Melanoteuthis lucens Joubin, 1912 Watasella nigra Sasaki, 1920 Danateuthis schmidti Joubin, 1929 Hansenoteuthis lucens Joubin, 1929 Melanoteuthis schmidti Joubin, 1929 Melanoteuthis beebei Robson, 1929 Retroteuthis pacifica Joubin, 1929 Melanoteuthis anderseni Joubin, 1931

The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. "vampire squid from hell") is a small, deep-sea cirrate cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the Vampire Squid's placement in its own order: Vampyromorphida (formerly Vampyromorpha), sharing similarities with both squid and octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict it is the only surviving member of its order, first described and mistakenly identified as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun. A Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) drawn by Carl Chun, 1903. ... For other uses, see Scientific classification (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ... Classes Caudofoveata Aplacophora Polyplacophora Monoplacophora Bivalvia Scaphopoda Gastropoda Cephalopoda † Rostroconchia The mollusks or molluscs are the large and diverse phylum Mollusca, which includes a variety of familiar creatures well-known for their decorative shells or as seafood. ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?†Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class... Orders Aulacocerida (extinct) Hematitida  (extinct) Phragmoteuthida  (extinct) Belemnitida  (extinct) Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida Subclass Coleoidea is the grouping of cephalopods containing all the primarily soft-bodied creatures. ... Orders Vampyromorphida Octopoda Octopodiformes is a superorder of the subclass Coleoidea. ... Binomial name Vampyroteuthis infernalis Chun, 1903 The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. ... Genera †Vampyronassa Vampyroteuthis Vampyroteuthidae is a family of vampyromorph cephalopods comprising the extant Vampire Squid, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, and the extinct Vampyronassa rhodanica from the Middle Jurassic. ... Binomial name Vampyroteuthis infernalis Chun, 1903 The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. ... Carl Chun (October 1, 1852 – April 11, 1914) was a German marine biologist. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Carl Chun (October 1, 1852 – April 11, 1914) was a German marine biologist. ... In scientific nomenclature, synonyms are different scientific names used for a single taxon. ... Philip Burne-Jones, The Vampire, 1897 Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on human and/or animal lifeforce. ... For other uses, see Squid (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Hell (disambiguation). ... Orders Subclass Nautiloidea †Plectronocerida †Ellesmerocerida †Actinocerida †Pseudorthocerida †Endocerida †Tarphycerida †Oncocerida †Discosorida Nautilida †Orthocerida †Ascocerida †Bactritida Subclass †Ammonoidea †Goniatitida †Ceratitida †Ammonitida Subclass Coleoidea †Belemnoidea †Aulacocerida †Belemnitida †Hematitida †Phragmoteuthida Neocoleoidea (most living cephalopods) ?†Boletzkyida Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida The cephalopods (Greek plural (kephalópoda); head-foot) are the mollusk class... In scientific classification used in biology, the order (Latin: ordo, plural ordines) is a rank between class and family (termed a taxon at that rank). ... Binomial name Vampyroteuthis infernalis Chun, 1903 The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. ... For other uses, see Octopus (disambiguation). ... In biology, phylogenetics (Greek: phylon = tribe, race and genetikos = relative to birth, from genesis = birth) is the study of evolutionary relatedness among various groups of organisms (e. ... The term relict is used to refer to surviving remnants of natural phenomena. ... 1900 (MCMIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Friday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Orders Sepiida Sepiolida Spirulida Teuthida Octopoda Vampyromorphida Nautilida The Cephalopods (head-foot) are the mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by bilateral body symmetry, a prominent head, and a modification of the mollusc foot into the form of arms or tentacles. ... Carl Chun (October 1, 1852 – April 11, 1914) was a German marine biologist. ...

Physical description

Vampyroteuthis lurking in the ocean depths

At a maximum 30 cm (1 foot) in total length, the Vampire Squid is no threat to humans. Its 15 cm (6 inch) gelatinous body varies in color between velvety jet-black and pale reddish, depending on location and lighting conditions. A webbing of skin connects its eight arms, each lined with rows of fleshy spines or cirri; the inside of this "cloak" is black. Only the distal half (farthest from the body) of the arms have suckers. Its limpid, globular eyes—which appear red or blue, also depending on lighting—are proportionately the largest in the animal kingdom at 2.5 cm (1 inch) in diameter. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 450 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 720 pixel, file size: 39 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Image taken by User:Try0yrt Copyright owned by: British Broadcasting Corporation/Discovery Channel/Australian Broadcasting Corporatin from the Planet Earth series Image came from a digital... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 450 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 720 pixel, file size: 39 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Image taken by User:Try0yrt Copyright owned by: British Broadcasting Corporation/Discovery Channel/Australian Broadcasting Corporatin from the Planet Earth series Image came from a digital... For other uses, see Animal (disambiguation). ...

Mature adults have a pair of ear-like fins projecting from the lateral sides of the mantle. These fins serve as the adult's primary means of propulsion: Vampire Squid are said to "fly" through the water by way of flapping their fins. Their powerful beak-like jaws are as white as ivory. Within the webbing are two pouches wherein the tactile velar filaments are concealed. The filaments are analogous to a true squid's tentacles, extending well past the arms, however, they are a different arm pair than the squid's tentacles. Instead, the filaments are the same pair that were lost by the ancestral octopuses. The mantle is an organ found in mollusks. ...

The Vampire Squid is covered entirely in light-producing organs called photophores. The animal has great control over the organs, capable of producing disorienting flashes of light for fractions of a second to several minutes in duration. The intensity and size of the photophores can also be modulated. Appearing as small white discs, the photophores are larger and more complex at the tips of the arms and at the base of the two fins, but are absent from the underside of the caped arms. Two larger white areas on top of the head were initially believed to be photophores too, but have turned out to be photoreceptors. A photophore is a light-emitting organ which appears as luminous spots on various marine fishes. ... A photoreceptor, or photoreceptor cell, is a specialized type of neuron found in the eyes retina that is capable of phototransduction. ...

The chromatophores (pigment organs) common to most cephalopods are poorly developed in Vampire Squid. While this means the animal is not capable of changing its skin colour in the dramatic fashion of shallow-dwelling cephalopods, such trickery is not needed at the pitch black depths in which it lives. Zebrafish chromatophores mediate background adaptation on exposure to dark (top) and light environments (bottom). ...

Habitat and adaptations

The Vampire Squid is an extreme example of a deep-sea cephalopod, thought to reside at aphotic (lightless) depths from 600-900 metres (2,000-3,000 feet) or more. Within this region of the world's oceans is a discrete habitat known as the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Within the OMZ oxygen saturation is too low to support aerobic metabolism in most higher organisms. Nonetheless, the Vampire Squid is able to live and breathe normally in the OMZ at oxygen saturations as low as 3%; a feat no other cephalopod—and few other animals—can claim. The aphotic zone is the depth of the ocean that is not exposed to sunlight. ... Habitat (which is Latin for it inhabits) is the place where a particular species live and grow. ... General Name, symbol, number oxygen, O, 8 Chemical series nonmetals, chalcogens Group, period, block 16, 2, p Appearance colorless (gas) very pale blue (liquid) Standard atomic weight 15. ... In chemistry, saturation has four different meanings: In physical chemistry, saturation is the point at which a solution of a substance can dissolve no more of that substance and additional amounts of that substance will appear as a precipitate. ... A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ...

In order to cope with life in the suffocating depths, vampire squid have developed several radical adaptations. Of all deep-sea cephalopods, their mass-specific metabolic rate is the lowest. Their blue blood's hemocyanin binds and transports oxygen more efficiently than in other cephalopods (Seibel et al. 1999), aided by gills with especially large surface area. The animals have weak musculature but maintain agility and buoyancy with little effort thanks to sophisticated statocysts (balancing organs akin to a human's inner ear) and ammonium-rich gelatinous tissues closely matching the density of the surrounding seawater. Single Oxygenated Hemocyanin protein from Octopus Hemocyanins (also spelled haemocyanins) are respiratory proteins containing two copper atoms that reversibly bind a single oxygen molecule (O2). ... For other uses, see Gill (disambiguation). ... The statocyst is a balance organ present in some aquatic invertebrates (Cnidarians, Ctenophores, Bilaterians). ... For other uses, see Ear (disambiguation). ... A ball-and-stick model of the ammonium cation Ammonium is also an old name for the Siwa Oasis in western Egypt. ... For other uses, see Density (disambiguation). ...

At the shallower end of the Vampire Squid's vertical range, the view from below is like the sky at twilight: The highly sensitive eyes of deepwater denizens are able to distinguish the silhouettes of other animals moving overhead. To combat this, the vampire squid generates its own bluish light (bioluminescence) in a strategy called counterillumination: The light diffuses the animal's silhouette, effectively "cloaking" its presence from the watchful eyes below. Its own large eyes detect even the faintest of gleams. A pair of photoreceptors are located on top of its head, perhaps alerting the animal to movements above. Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of a chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. ...

Like many deep-sea cephalopods, Vampire Squid lack ink sacs. If threatened, instead of ink, a sticky cloud of bioluminescent mucus containing innumerable orbs of blue light is ejected from the arm tips. This luminous barrage, which may last nearly 10 minutes, is presumably meant to daze would-be predators and allow the Vampire Squid to disappear into the blackness without the need to swim far. The display is made only if the animal is very agitated; regenerating the mucus is costly from a metabolic point of view. An ink is a liquid containing various pigments and/or dyes used for coloring a surface to render an image or text. ...

Development

Few specifics are known regarding the ontogeny of the Vampire Squid. Their development progresses through three morphologic forms: the very young animals have a single pair of fins, an intermediate form has two pairs, and the mature form again has one. As the animals grow and their surface area to volume ratio drops, the fins are resized and repositioned in order to maximize gait efficiency. Whereas the young propel themselves primarily by jet propulsion, mature adults find flapping their fins to be the most efficient means. This unique ontogeny caused confusion in the past, with the varying forms identified as several species in distinct families (Young 2002). Ontogeny (also ontogenesis or morphogenesis) describes the origin and the development of an organism from the fertilized egg to its mature form. ...

If hypotheses may be drawn from knowledge of other deep-sea cephalopods, the Vampire Squid likely reproduces slowly by way of a small number of large eggs. Growth is slow as nutrients are not abundant at depths frequented by the animals. The vastness of their habitat and its sparse population make procreative encounters a fortuitous event. The female may store a male's hydraulically implanted spermatophore (a sort of tapered, cylindrical satchel of sperm) for long periods before she is ready to fertilize her eggs. Once she does, she may need to brood over them for up to 400 days before they hatch. The female will not eat towards this culmination and dies shortly thereafter. A spermatophore is a capsule or mass created by males of various invertebrate species, containing spermatozoa and transferred in entirety to the female during sex. ... For other uses, see Sperm (disambiguation). ...

Hatchlings are c. 8 mm in length and are well-developed miniatures of the adults, with some differences. Their arms lack webbing, their eyes are smaller and their velar filaments are not fully formed. The hatchlings are transparent and survive on a generous internal yolk for an unknown period before they begin to actively feed. The smaller animals frequent much deeper waters, perhaps feeding on marine snow (falling organic detritus). The egg yolk is the yellow inside an egg. ... In the deep ocean, marine snow is a continuous shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column. ...

Behaviour

When encountering a predator or prey, the photophores of Vampyroteuthis change accordingly with its posture, in some ways producing an hypnotising effect.

What behavioural data known has been gleaned from ephemeral encounters with ROVs; animals are often damaged during capture and survive for no more than about two months in aquaria. An artificial environment makes reliable observation of non-defensive behaviour difficult. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 450 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 720 pixel, file size: 32 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Image taken by User:Try0yrt Copyright owned by: British Broadcasting Corporation /Discovery Channel / Australian Broadcasting Corporation from the Planet Earth series Image came from a digital... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 450 pixelsFull resolution (1280 × 720 pixel, file size: 32 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Image taken by User:Try0yrt Copyright owned by: British Broadcasting Corporation /Discovery Channel / Australian Broadcasting Corporation from the Planet Earth series Image came from a digital... Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) are mobile tools used in environments too dangerous for humans. ...

With their long velar filaments deployed, Vampire Squid have been observed drifting along in the deep, black ocean currents. If the filaments contact an entity, or if vibrations impinge upon them, the animals investigate with rapid acrobatic movements. They are capable of swimming at speeds equivalent to two body lengths per second, with an acceleration time of five seconds. However, their weak muscles limit stamina considerably.

Unlike their relatives living in more hospitable climes, deep-sea cephalopods cannot afford to expend energy in protracted flight. Given their low metabolic rate and the low density of prey at such depths, Vampire Squid must use innovative predator avoidance tactics in order to conserve energy. Their aforementioned bioluminescent "fireworks" are combined with the writhing of glowing arms, erratic movements and escape trajectories, making it difficult for a predator to home in.

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, a fussy palate is unlikely. Vampire Squid have been found among the stomach contents of large deepwater fish, deep diving whales and pinnipeds such as sea lions. Orders Calanoida Cyclopoida Gelyelloida Harpacticoida Misophrioida Monstrilloida Mormonilloida Platycopioida Poecilostomatoida Siphonostomatoida Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. ... Superfamilies Penaeoidea Aristeidae Benthesicymidae Penaeidae Sicyoniidae Solenoceridae Sergestoidea Luciferidae Sergestidae Prawns are shrimp-like crustaceans, belonging to the sub-order Dendrobranchiata [1]. Prawns are distinguished from the superficially similar shrimp by the gill structure which is branching in prawns (hence the name, dendro=tree; branchia=gill), but is lamellar in... Classes Anthozoa - Corals and sea anemones Cubozoa - Sea wasps or box jellyfish Hydrozoa - Hydroids, hydra-like animals Scyphozoa - Jellyfish Cnidaria is a phylum containing some 10,000 species of relatively simple animals found exclusively in aquatic environments (most species are marine). ... This article is about the animal. ... Families Odobenidae Otariidae Phocidae Pinnipeds (fin-feet, lit. ... For other uses, see Sea Lion (disambiguation). ...

Relationships

Pyritized fossil of Vampyronassa rhodanica from the Lower Callovian of Voulte-sur-Rhône.

The Vampyromorphida are characterized by such apomorphies as the possession of photophores, a peculiar type of uncalcified endoskeleton called "gladius", 8 webbed arms and the 2 velar filaments. Until fairly recently known only from the modern species and some fossil remains tentatively allocated to this group, a batch of Middle Jurassic (Lower Callovian, c.165-164 mya) specimens found at La Voulte-sur-Rhône demonstrated that clearly vampyromorphid cephalopods were in existence for far longer than has been hitherto believed. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 458 pixelsFull resolution (1503 × 860 pixel, file size: 466 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 458 pixelsFull resolution (1503 × 860 pixel, file size: 466 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) File historyClick on a date/time to view the file as it appeared at that time. ... Binomial name Fischer & Riou, 2002 Vampyronassa rhodanica is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France. ... This cladogram shows the relationship among various insect groups. ... Endoskeleton of a swordfish An endoskeleton is an internal support structure of an animal. ... For other uses, see Fossil (disambiguation). ... The Jurassic Period is a major unit of the geologic timescale that extends from about 199. ... The Callovian is a stage on the geologic time scale occuring from 164. ... For other uses of mya, see mya (disambiguation). ...

These were described as Vampyronassa rhodanica. The supposed vampyromorphids from the Kimmeridgian-Tithonian (156-146 mya) of Solnhofen, Plesioteuthis prisca, Leptoteuthis gigas, and Trachyteuthis hastiformis, cannot be positively assigned to this group; they are large species (from 35 cm in P. prisca to > 1 meter in L. gigas) and show features not found in vampyromorphids, being somewhat similar to the true squids, Teuthida (Fischer & Riou 2002). Binomial name Fischer & Riou, 2002 Vampyronassa rhodanica is an extinct vampyromorph cephalopod known from around 20 fossils from the Lower Callovian (165–164 Ma) of Voulte-sur-Rhône, Ardèche, France. ... The Kimmeridgian is a stage of the Late Jurassic Epoch. ... The Tithonian (141-135 MYA) is the most recent faunal stage of the Jurassic era. ... Solnhofen is a town in the district of Weißenburg-Gunzenhausen in the region of Franconia in the Land of Bavaria in Germany. ... Binomial name Trachyteuthis hastiformis (Rüppel, 1828) Trachyteuthis hastiformis is an extinct species of cephalopod, currently the only member of its genus. ... Suborders Myopsina Oegopsina Squids are the large, diverse group of marine mollusks, popular as food in cuisines as widely separated as the Japanese and the Italian. ...

References

• Bolstad, Kat (2003): Deep-Sea Cephalopods: An Introduction and Overview. Version of 5/6/03, retrieved 2006-DEC-06.

• Ellis, Richard (1996): Introducing Vampyroteuthis infernalis. In: The Deep Atlantic: Life, Death, and Exploration in the Abyss. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. ISBN 0679433244. Online version retrieved 2007-APR-30.

• Fischer, Jean-Claude & Riou, Bernard (2002): Vampyronassa rhodanica nov. gen. nov sp., vampyromorphe (Cephalopoda, Coleoidea) du Callovien inférieur de la Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France). Annales de Paléontologie 88(1) 1−17. [French with English abstract] doi:10.1016/S0753-3969(02)01037-6 (HTML abstract)

• Robison, Bruce H.; Reisenbichler, Kim R.; Hunt, James C. & Haddock, Steven H. D. (2003): Light Production by the Arm Tips of the Deep-Sea Cephalopod Vampyroteuthis infernalis. Biological Bulletin 205(2): 102-109. PDF fulltext

• Seibel, Brad A. (2001): Vampyroteuthis infernalis. Retrieved 2006-DEC-06.

• Seibel, Brad A.; Chausson, Fabienne; Lallier, Francois H.; Zal, Franck & Childress, James J. (1999): Vampire blood: respiratory physiology of the vampire squid (Cephalopoda:Vampyromorpha) in relation to the oxygen minimum layer. Experimental Biology Online 4(1): 1-10. doi: 10.1007/s00898-999-0001-2 10.1007/s00898-999-0001-2 (HTML abstract)

• Young, Richard E. (2002): Taxa Associated with the Family Vampyroteuthidae. Version of June 2002, retrieved 2006-DEC-06.

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

vampire squid

• CephBase: Vampire Squid
• Tree of Life: Vampyroteuthis infernalis.
• National Geographic video of a Vampire Squid

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ... The Tree of Life Web Project is an ongoing Internet project and providing information about the diversity and phylogeny of life on Earth. ...

Images

• Image with velar filament in view, detailed caption
• The vampire squid's photophores and photoreceptors
• Diagram and images of a Vampyroteuthis hatchling
• Photomicrograph of arm tip fluorescence