Pictures: Vampire Squid's Surprising Diet Revealed

Fleshy Appendages

Image courtesy MBARI

The vampire squid's fanglike features (pictured in 2010) are in fact fleshy appendages known as cirri. They transport mucus balls of collected marine detritus to the vampire squid's mouth, the scientists discovered.

The creature's feeding organs and behavior are unique among cephalopods, which usually catch live prey, Hoving said.

For instance, the vampire squid's two string-like feeding filaments evolved from a pair of arms, while suckers on the tips of its arms "are very different from octopus suckers, because they don't suck, they secrete mucus [for packaging their food]," Hoving explained.

(See more pictures of deep-sea creatures.)

Published September 29, 2012

"Vampire Squid From Hell"

Image courtesy MBARI

The vampire squid's dark red body, huge blue eyes, and cloaklike tissue—spread between arms bristling with fanglike growths—earned the species the name Vampyroteuthis infernalis, or "vampire squid from hell."

Mystery has surrounded this odd relative of squid and octopuses since the first documented vampire squid was trawled from the ocean over a century ago.

Though the new study found scavenged fish scales and morsels of squid in the deep-sea cephalopod's diet, there was no evidence of vampire squid catching live prey.

(Also see "Alien-like Squid With 'Elbows' Filmed at Drilling Site.")

Published September 29, 2012

Fishing Expedition

Image courtesy MBARI

A vampire squid trails one of its long feeder filaments at depths of about 630 meters (2,065 feet) in California's undersea Monterey Canyon in 2008.

These stringlike appendages, which can stretch about eight times a vampire squid's body length, are thought to be multifunctional. As well as catching dead plankton and other bits of detrital matter, the organs may also be deployed to sense predators, the study team said.    

If threatened, the creature performs another novel trick: The vampire squid turns itself inside out (watch video) by peeling back its eight webbed arms. The frightful impression may put off potential predators.

Published September 29, 2012

Life in the Slow Lane

Image courtesy MBARI

A vampire squid trawls for its dinner in the murky depths of California's Monterey Canyon in 2011.

The deep-sea species can afford a humbler diet and a slower pace of life compared to its more voracious squid relatives, according to the study, published recently in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

Instead of having to chase after food, vampire squid simply collect drifting tidbits with their extended filaments, the team said.

And since they live at dark, oxygen-deprived depths where few other marine animals can survive, the squid don't need to expend energy avoiding predators. (Also see "Pictures: Squid Iridescence Explained.")

Published September 29, 2012

Deep-Sea Footage

Image courtesy MBARI

A vampire squid feeds on "marine snow" showering down from nutrient-rich surface waters in a still from a 2010 video. The scientists behind the new study examined 24 hours of rare footage of vampire squid, shot over 20 years using MBARI robotic submersibles.

The squid are believed to patrol low-oxygen zones worldwide. Even so, Hoving said, "I don't know what their maximum depth is, but we have found them at over a thousand meters [3,300 feet]."

Published September 29, 2012

More Pictures: Giant Squid Get
Extreme Plastic Surgery

Image courtesy and copyright Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination

Published September 29, 2012