Squid vampire upside down body

The video below shows the strange ability of vampire ink, one of the most unique creatures in the ocean.

Despite its formidable name, vampire ink ( Vampyroteuthis infernalis ) is just a small mollusk - with a maximum body length of about 30 cm - living in deep water 550-1,100 m under the ocean. They are not dangerous to people. Scientists often see them in temperate and tropical seas on the planet. This is the only head-legged animal that is related to both octopus and squid. In fact, vampire ink was first discovered in 1903, but then scientists put them in the octopus family.

If you meet them for the first time, it is easy to mistake the vampire ink coming out of some sci-fi film, because their bodies are capable of turning upside-down. They have fins on the top of the body. This pair of fins - looks quite like ears - is a means to help the vampire ink move in the water. A skin membrane connecting 8 genera of vampire ink. Like other squid species, they can also create jet propulsion by moving water through a hole in the body. Vampire ink can swim fast enough to be unbelievable - about 2 times the length of the body per second.

Although the body size is small, the vampire ink has huge eyes. Their eyes have an average diameter of 2.5 cm - equivalent to the eyes of a large sized dog. Depending on the lighting conditions, their eyes are red or blue. Their body colors also change constantly from black to light red according to the location and lighting conditions.

The body of vampire ink is almost covered by light-producing organs called photophore. Squid can control these organs to create flashes in a period of several hundred seconds to several minutes. They can also change the size and intensity of photophores.