---
title: "What the sources say about the Vampire Squid | AnimalTracks.wiki"
description: "60 claims from the Vampire Squid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it."
image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/vampire-squid-1.webp"
canonical: "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/vampire-squid/sources/"
---

# What the sources say about the Vampire Squid (*Vampyroteuthis infernalis*)

> 60 claims from the Vampire Squid profile, each beside the words of the source that backs it. A "..." marks a cut in a quote and [brackets] an insertion.

Profile: [Vampire Squid](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/vampire-squid/)

## What are the vampire squid and the vampire fish? National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/vampire-squid-fish.html

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| vampire squid of Hell | literally means "vampire squid of Hell" |
| it does not suck blood | it does not suck blood like its mythical namesake |
| velvety webbing that joins its eight arms into a cloak | the velvety, cloak-like webbing that connects its arms (note: 'eight arms' from MBARI: 'the tips of their eight arms'.) |
| Its eyes are the real shock: proportionally the largest in the animal kingdom | Its huge, bright blue eyes - proportionally the largest in the animal kingdom |
| Most of its cephalopod cousins squirt ink, and shallow-water ones change color to confuse intruders. | does not eject ink, as do most of its cephalopod cousins. Nor can it change color to confuse intruders the way its shallow-water cousins can |
| it can't change color, which would be a pointless strategy in the deep ocean, where little light penetrates | Nor can it change color to confuse intruders the way its shallow-water cousins can; living as it does in the deep ocean, where little light penetrates , color-changing is a pointless strategy |
| it can release a glowing cloud of sticky, bioluminescent mucus to distract predators | the vampire squid squirts a copious cloud of sticky, bioluminescent mucus toward would-be predators (note: MBARI: 'can release bioluminescent fluid to distract predators.') |
| The vampire squid's lineage goes back 165 million years in the fossil record | its lineage goes back 165 million years in the fossil record (note: NOAA page last updated 2024-06-16.) |

## Vampire squid. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

https://www.mbari.org/animal/vampire-squid/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Oxygen-poor twilight-zone living | In the twilight (mesopelagic) zone and especially common in the oxygen minimum zone |
| pulsing blue arm tips | the tips of their eight arms glow with pulsing blue bioluminescence |
| Six hundred to nine hundred meters down, in the ocean's twilight zone | Depth
600–900 m
(2,000–3,000 feet)
Habitat
Midwater
In the twilight (mesopelagic) zone and especially common in the oxygen minimum zone (note: MBARI's stat fields; normalised from the page's line breaks.) |
| It is especially common in the oxygen minimum zone | especially common in the oxygen minimum zone |
| where oxygen levels are only a fraction of those near the surface | Vampire squid thrive in the oxygen minimum zone, where oxygen levels are only a fraction of those near the surface. |
| It isn't even a true squid: it's the last surviving member of an ancient group of cephalopods | the vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) is neither a vampire nor a squid, but the last surviving member of an ancient group of cephalopods |
| It grows to 30 centimeters (12 inches) long at most | Maximum Size
30 cm
(12 inches) total length (note: NOAA (updated 2024) independently gives 'a small ( 12-inch-long ) cephalopod.') |
| dark reddish-brown skin | That dark, reddish-brown color keeps Vampyroteuthis camouflaged |
| a flurry of dead plankton, poop, mucus and other organic material sinking from the waters above | marine snow—a flurry of dead plankton, poop, mucus, and other organic material sinking from the waters above |
| This passive feeding takes very little energy. | Their passive feeding strategy requires very little energy |
| Two long, thin, sticky filaments collect the "snow." | Two long, thin, sticky filaments collect bits of “snow.” |
| Suckers add mucus to clump the particles together, then soft, finger-like cirri pass the meal to its mouth. | Suckers underneath produce mucus to concentrate the particles, then soft, finger-like cirri transfer the meal to the vampire squid’s mouth. |
| Few predators can hunt in the oxygen minimum zone, but the vampire squid takes no chances. | Relatively few predators can hunt in the oxygen minimum zone, but the vampire squid does not take any chances. |
| It has no ink for defense | They do not have ink for defense like many cephalopods |
| When threatened, it turns its cloak of webbed arms inside out | When threatened, vampire squid turn their cloak of webbed arms inside out |
| If danger remains, the tips of its eight arms glow with pulsing blue light | If danger remains, the tips of their eight arms glow with pulsing blue bioluminescence |
| A cephalopod that carries no ink | They do not have ink for defense like many cephalopods |
| fights back with light instead | They do not have ink for defense like many cephalopods, but can release bioluminescent fluid to distract predators |
| The twilight (mesopelagic) zone, especially the oxygen minimum zone, 600 to 900 meters deep in tropical and temperate seas worldwide | Depth
600–900 m
(2,000–3,000 feet)
Habitat
Midwater
In the twilight (mesopelagic) zone and especially common in the oxygen minimum zone
Diet
Marine snow
Also small zooplankton
Range
Worldwide
In tropical and temperate waters (note: stats.habitat) |
| Thriving where oxygen is only a fraction of surface levels, and pulsing blue light at its arm tips. | Vampire squid thrive in the oxygen minimum zone, where oxygen levels are only a fraction of those near the surface. Their passive feeding strategy requires very little energy, making it ideal for life in low-oxygen environments. Relatively few predators can hunt in the oxygen minimum zone, but the vampire squid does not take any chances. That dark, reddish-brown color keeps Vampyroteuthis camouflaged in twilight waters where red light cannot reach. When threatened, vampire squid turn their cloak of webbed arms inside out, changing their appearance to confuse predators. If danger remains, the tips of their eight arms glow with pulsing blue bioluminescence (note: stats.superpower) |
| Suckers add mucus to clump the food together, then soft cirri pass it to its mouth. | Suckers underneath produce mucus to concentrate the particles, then soft, finger-like cirri transfer the meal to the vampire squid’s mouth. (note: FAQ 2.) |
| When threatened, the vampire squid turns its cloak of webbed arms inside out, changing its appearance to confuse predators. | When threatened, vampire squid turn their cloak of webbed arms inside out, changing their appearance to confuse predators. (note: FAQ 3.) |
| If danger remains, the tips of its eight arms glow with pulsing blue light. | If danger remains, the tips of their eight arms glow with pulsing blue bioluminescence (note: FAQ 3.) |
| It has no ink, but it can release a glowing fluid to distract predators. | They do not have ink for defense like many cephalopods, but can release bioluminescent fluid to distract predators. (note: FAQ 3.) |

## Vampire squid live long and reproduce often. MBARI News.

https://www.mbari.org/news/vampire-squid-live-long-and-reproduce-often/

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Female squid, octopuses and cuttlefish usually die after a single, final burst of egg-laying. | Female squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish end life with a bang. Usually, these soft-bodied cephalopods die after a single, end-of-life reproductive blaze of glory. |
| The vampire squid breaks this deadly pattern. | one deep-red, foot-long cephalopod breaks this deadly pattern |
| Researchers counted and measured egg cells in 43 females netted off southern California | The researchers counted and measured egg cells in 43 female vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) netted offshore of southern California. |
| their reproductive organs go dormant between rounds of breeding, something never seen before in soft-bodied cephalopods | the reproductive organs of female vampire squid return to a dormant, resting stage between rounds of reproduction—something never before seen in soft-bodied cephalopods |
| Vampire squid reproduce more than 20 times in their lives | Vampire squid reproduce over 20 times throughout their lives. |
| a female releases each egg on its own into the water | Female vampire squid release each egg individually into the water column. |
| With 6,000 to 20,000 eggs to release in a lifetime, the team speculated that the vampire squid may live up to a decade. | With 6,000 to 20,000 eggs to release over their lifetime, the vampire squid may live up to a decade, the team speculated. (note: Hedge and attribution kept: an inference from egg counts, not a measured age.) |

## Hoving & Robison (2012). Vampire squid: detritivores in the oxygen minimum zone. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2012.1357

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| Marine snow: sinking organic detritus, fecal pellets and diatoms | Vampire squid were found to feed on detrital matter of various sizes, from small particles to larger marine aggregates. Ingested items included the remains of gelatinous zooplankton, discarded larvacean houses, crustacean remains, diatoms and faecal pellets. (note: stats.diet. 'Marine snow' and 'sinking' from MBARI's Diet field and 'organic material sinking from the waters above'.) |
| the vampire squid feeds on detritus, bits of dead and waste material from tiny particles to larger clumps, which it catches with two long, retractile filaments | Vampire squid were found to feed on detrital matter of various sizes, from small particles to larger marine aggregates ... vampire squid use their retractile filaments for the capture of food (note: FAQ 2. 'dead and waste material' glosses the abstract's list: remains of gelatinous zooplankton, discarded larvacean houses, crustacean remains, diatoms and faecal pellets.) |

## Robison et al. (2003). Light Production by the Arm Tips of the Deep-Sea Cephalopod Vampyroteuthis infernalis. The Biological Bulletin.

https://doi.org/10.2307/1543231

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| it takes a much bigger scare to trigger its glowing cloud than its glowing arm tips | Use of the tip-lights is readily educed by contact stimuli, while fluid expulsion has a much higher triggering threshold. |

## Golikov et al. (2019). The first global deep-sea stable isotope assessment reveals the unique trophic ecology of Vampire Squid Vampyroteuthis infernalis (Cephalopoda). Scientific Reports.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55719-1

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| scientists group it with the octopuses | Phylogenetic studies have placed V. infernalis, together with the Octopoda, in the clade Octopodiformes |
| Surviving here means keeping energy use to a minimum. | Adaptations for living in the OMZ relate to minimizing energy expenditure |
| For its size, the vampire squid has the lowest metabolic rate of any cephalopod. | suppression of aerobic metabolism resulting in the lowest mass-specific metabolic rate among cephalopods (note: 'For its size' renders 'mass-specific'. Replaces the 1998 abstract's 'ever measured' wording with the 2019 statement.) |
| Its blood carries oxygen with hemocyanin, a respiratory protein, and the vampire squid's version grips oxygen more tightly than that of any cephalopod tested so far, except one Antarctic seafloor octopus | the use of a haemocyanin (respiratory protein) with the highest affinity for O 2 among all cephalopod heamocyanins investigated so far 24 , except for one benthic octopus from the Antarctic (note: 'grips oxygen more tightly' renders 'highest affinity for O2'; 'seafloor' renders 'benthic'.) |
| Neutral buoyancy cuts the energy it spends swimming. | neutral buoyancy to reduce the energy costs of swimming |
| It is usually seen drifting and collecting marine snow | V. infernalis has usually been observed passively floating and collecting detritus and small planktonic organisms with the arm filaments |
| Its stomach often holds pieces of larger prey too, such as crustaceans and fish bones, so marine snow isn't its only food. | apart from detritus (e.g. fecal pellets of zooplankton, larvacean houses, radiolarians and diatoms), the remains of large prey are often found: pieces of gelatinous plankton, whole and pieces of mesozooplanktonic crustaceans, fish scales and bones (note: The paper equates detritivory with feeding on 'marine snow'.) |
| has been found from 600 to 3,300 meters down, often in oxygen minimum zones | The vertical distribution of V. infernalis covers meso- and bathypelagic zones from 600 to 3300 m depth, where it is commonly, but not exclusively, associated with oxygen minimum zones (note: FAQ 1. The body's 600 to 900 m is MBARI's typical-depth field; this is the paper's full recorded range.) |
| It survives by keeping its energy use to a minimum. | Adaptations for living in the OMZ relate to minimizing energy expenditure (note: FAQ 1.) |
| For its size it has the lowest metabolic rate of any cephalopod | suppression of aerobic metabolism resulting in the lowest mass-specific metabolic rate among cephalopods (note: FAQ 1.) |
| hemocyanin, the protein that carries oxygen in its blood, grips oxygen more tightly than that of any cephalopod tested so far except one Antarctic seafloor octopus | the use of a haemocyanin (respiratory protein) with the highest affinity for O 2 among all cephalopod heamocyanins investigated so far 24 , except for one benthic octopus from the Antarctic (note: FAQ 1.) |
| Neutral buoyancy cuts the energy it spends swimming. | neutral buoyancy to reduce the energy costs of swimming (note: FAQ 1.) |
| Its stomach often holds pieces of larger prey too, such as crustaceans and fish bones, so detritus isn't its only food. | apart from detritus (e.g. fecal pellets of zooplankton, larvacean houses, radiolarians and diatoms), the remains of large prey are often found: pieces of gelatinous plankton, whole and pieces of mesozooplanktonic crustaceans, fish scales and bones (note: FAQ 2.) |

## Košťák et al. (2021). Fossil evidence for vampire squid inhabiting oxygen-depleted ocean zones since at least the Oligocene. Communications Biology.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-021-01714-0

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| a 2021 study found that its relatives were already adapted to oxygen-poor deep water by the Oligocene epoch | Vampire squids were thus adapted to bathyal, oxygen-depleted habitats at least since the Oligocene. (note: 2021 is the reference's year. The fossil, Necroteuthis hungarica, is assigned to the family Vampyroteuthidae, hence 'relatives'.) |

## Vampyrotheuthis infernalis (Vampire Squid). The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies.

https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Vampyroteuthis_infernalis%20-%20Vampire%20Squid.pdf

| The page says | The source says |
| :--- | :--- |
| an inside-out pineapple posture | the organism may turn itself inside out revealing its black underside which comprises of harmful-looking cirri; this is described as the pineapple or pumpkin posture |
| showing a black underside lined with harmful-looking cirri. This is known as the "pineapple posture." | revealing its black underside which comprises of harmful-looking cirri; this is described as the pineapple or pumpkin posture |
| Not Evaluated | Vampyrotheuthis infernalis is not listed by the IUCN (note: stats.conservationStatus, unedited. Confirmed independently: Crossref search 2026-09-16 found no Red List assessment DOI, and GBIF has no category for this name (scratch/sources/vampire-squid.md).) |
| This is known as the "pineapple posture." | this is described as the pineapple or pumpkin posture (note: FAQ 3.) |