The Mysterious Deep Sea Squids

Why go to Aruba? If you're not swayed by the
bright sun or the wide beaches, perhaps your
interest will be piqued when you think of all
the sea life you can observe off the coast of
this Caribbean paradise. With a pair of goggles
and a snorkel, you can watch hundreds of
tropical fish swim around bright corals, and
maybe catch a glimpse of a whale or dolphin! But
there are some creatures you probably won't see,
even though they're endlessly fascinating. These
giant deep-sea animals are still a mystery to us.

Deep beneath the tropical waters lies
Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally the
"vampire squid from Hell." It is the only member
of its taxonomic order. This 1-foot long
cephalopod has a dark reddish-black body, with a
small pair of fins that serve as its primary
means of movement throughout the water. Its red
eyes are situated at the bottom of the mantle;
plus the web of skin that connects its eight
arms, looks disturbingly similar to Dracula's
cape. The vampire squid is covered in
photophores--tiny light-producing organs that
can produce brief flashes of light to distract
and confuse enemies.

The vampire squid is thought to live in the
aphotic zones of the ocean, at least 2,000 feet
below the surface; there is very little oxygen
there, and the vampire squid is the only
cephalopod known to survive in such an anaerobic
zone. An incredible creature, it has evolved to
flourish in a very difficult environment. The
vampire squid does not have an ink sac; it can
briefly daze it's enemies by shooting a
bioluminescent mucus at them, that looks like a
blob of blue light. It eats small prawns,
cnidarians, and small crustaceans called
copepods. Very little is known about the vampire
squid's diet or hunting methods, but they're
probably opportunistic predators who eat
whatever they can find; down in the darkness,
there's never a guarantee of a meal.

Next to the giant squid however, the vampire
squid pales in comparision. It has been found
that this phenomenally large cephalopod can grow
to a length of at least 43 feet. Researchers have
discovered the deep-sea giant in oceans all
around the world; while several dead bodies have
been caught in fishing nets, a live specimen was
photographed in 2006. The giant squid has a
torso, or mantle, measuring about 6 feet long;
it has two long tentacles and eight arms, and
hundreds of suction cups are on its body. They
move by pulling water into their mantle cavity
and then shooting it out, propelling themselves
along in the water to find deep-sea fish to eat.
The nervous system of the Giant squid is highly
developed; its large brain is coupled with the
largest eyes of any creature on Earth; it's eyes
are an incredible 1 foot wide.

The sperm whale is the giant squid's main
predator, and sometimes whales exhibit the
telltale signs of previous tough matches against
squids, as scars on their bodies. The massive
size and elusive nature of this creature made it
the inspiration for hundreds of stories
throughout human history. It is only dwarfed by
the colossal squid, a cephalopod that is found
in regions near Antarctica. Research has been
limited, because these deep-sea monsters do not
survive well in shallower waters. And don't
worry, Aruba swimmers: even with those long
arms, a giant squid has never grabbed a human.


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