page_title: Vampire squid
section_title: Behaviour
hierarchical_section_title: Vampire squid / Behaviour
caption_attribution_description: English: A Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) drawn by Carl Chun, 1911. Polski: Vampyroteuthis infernalis Galego: Un polbo vampiro
context_page_description: The vampire squid is a small cephalopod found throughout temperate and tropical oceans in extreme deep sea conditions. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the vampire squid's placement in its own order, Vampyromorphida, as it shares similarities with both octopuses and squid, but is now known to be more closely related to octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict, it is the only known surviving member of its order. The first specimens were collected on the Valdivia Expedition and they were originally described as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun, but later assigned to a new order together with several extinct taxa.
context_section_description: What behavioural data are known have been gleaned from ephemeral encounters with ROVs; animals are often injured during capture, and survive up to two months in aquaria, although it is hypothesised that they can live for over eight years. An artificial environment makes reliable observation of non-defensive behaviour difficult. In May 2014, Monterey Bay Aquarium (California, United States) became the first to ever put this species on display.
  With their long velar filaments deployed, vampire squids 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 climates, 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 squids must use innovative predator avoidance tactics 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 identify multiple targets.
  In a threat response called the "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.
  They have eight arms but lack feeding tentacles, and instead use two retractile filaments in order to capture food. They combine the waste with mucus secreted from suckers to form balls of food. They feed on detritus, including the remains of gelatinous zooplankton (such as salps, larvaceans, and medusae jellies) and complete copepods, ostracods, amphipods, and isopods.
  Vampire squids have been found among the stomach contents of large, deepwater fish, including giant grenadiers, and deep-diving mammals, such as whales and sea lions.
caption: Vampire squid illustration
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