Vampire Squid
Description
The Vampire squid has a gelatinous, velvety jet-black body and large eyes that are red or blue. Its eight arms are connected by a webbing skin, each arm lined with rows of spines and suckers on the tips. It feeds on copepods, prawns, cnidarians and detritus. Vampire squid is an unique in that it's a cephalopod that shares both characteristics with squids and octopuses. It was mistakenly identified as an octopus in 1903. Because of its large gills it can intake great amount of oxygen. There used to be several different species of Vampyromorphida species but now the poor Vampire squid is the only member left. Vampire squid weighs around 1 pound. They have 2 eyes on either side of their head, their eyes are large and orb like. Marine biologists were shocked when they discovered Vampire squid for the first time in late 1800s. A man named Carl Chun was the first person to record such a rare creature, Carl Chun saw it's red eyes, dark tentacles and a cape like webbing because of these features he thought that it was a Vampire squid from the depths of the underworld. That's how it got it's name. Vampire Squids can regenerate tips of their tentacles. They can live 1-2 years. Vampire squids have large fins on their faces. Vampire squids have white beak like jaws. Almost entire body of vampire squid is covered by light producing organs called photophores. It produces disorienting flashes of light lasting several minutes.
Classification
Scientific name - Vampyroteuthis infernalis
Order - Vampyromorphida
Family - Vampyroteuthidae
Kingdom - Animalia
Class - Cephalopoda
Phylum - Mollusca
Genus - Vampyroteuthis
Distribution
Vampire Squids are found in tropical and subtropical oceans of the world at depths ranging from 300-3000m with a majority of squids living between the ranges 1,500-2,500m. Vampire squids live in the oxygen minimum layer of the ocean where virtually no light penetrates.
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Even though other squids and octopuses reproduce once before dying Vampire squids reproduce many time before death. Male Vampire squids pass capsules of its sperm to to female Vampire squids during mating. Female Vampire squids have specialized pouches to store those capsules, the store them for a long period of time till they fertilize them. after they are fertilized she release the eggs to the water. After babies hatch from the eggs, They have the same general form as their parents. but they measure only around 8mm long, and their bodies are transparent. They also lack webbing between their tentacles, and their filaments aren't fully formed yet, both of these things happen with time.
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Whales, Large fish and Sea lions are predators to Vampire Squids. They also threatened by ocean warming, decreasing, oxygen, pollution, over fishing, industrialization and global warming. Every bad thing happen to these animals because of us, let's stop harming lovely and poor animals.
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