Tag: theyre so cute!!!!!

end0skeletal:

The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. “vampire squid from Hell”) is a small, deep-sea cephalopod found throughout the temperate and tropical oceans of the world. Unique retractile sensory filaments justify the vampire squid’s placement in its own order, Vampyromorphida, which shares similarities with both squid and octopodes.

Like many deep-sea cephalopods, the vampire squid lacks ink sacs. If disturbed, it will curl its arms up outwards and wrap them around its body, exposing its spiny projections on the insides of its arms. If highly agitated, it may eject a sticky cloud of bioluminescent mucus containing innumerable orbs of blue light from the arm tips. This luminous barrage, which may last nearly 10 minutes, would presumably serve to daze would-be predators and allow the vampire squid to disappear into the blackness without the need to swim far.