The vampire squid, which is not technically a true squid, is named for its blue eyes, reddish-brown skin and webbing between the arms. It is relatively small measuring up to 28cm long. A unique character of the vampire squid are its photophores. These photophores are organs all over the body which produce luminescent clouds of glowing particles. The body composition of the vampire squid is similar to that of a jellyfish. It has very large eyes; proportionally it has the largest eye to body ratio of any animal in the world. The vampire squid has weak muscles, however it can swing quickly using its fins for a short period of time. It swims at an estimated 2 body lengths per second. The squid is found in temperate and tropical parts of the ocean. It is a carnivore and eats copepods, prawns, and cnidarians. The female vampire squid is larger than the male. Not much is known of the reproductive functions of the squid. It is thought that they reproduce slowly by laying eggs. The squid is found as shallow as 300 ft and as deep as 3000 ft. The vampire squid is an incredibly mysterious creature that has yet to be thoroughly investigated, because as is the case with many deep sea creatures, they observed in the wild.
Here are three great videos on the Vampire Squid:
Vampyroteuthis "vampire squid from hell" - Planet Earth
Sources:
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=179
http://www.seasky.org/deep-sea/vampire-squid.html
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/QandA/images/20081023/vampire_squid.jpg
By James And Gustavo
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