The Surprising Attack of the Vampire Squid on an Underwater Camera Reveals How They Use Their Massive Bioluminescent Organs to Catch Prey.
The vampire squid unexpectedly attacks the camera. (Video: UWA)
One of the rarest bioluminescent squids in the world dazzles with its glow as it attacks an underwater camera in the deep sea. A research team from the Minderoo Foundation and the Center for Deep Sea Research at the University of Western Australia (UWA) captured the encounter at a depth of 1,000 meters below the Pacific Ocean’s surface, using baited cameras that were freely drifting in waters near the Samoa Strait, an area of deep water flowing north of Samoa, Live Science reported on May 30.
The team of experts discovered the squid while using a research vessel to document the diversity of the dark offshore waters. The creature in the video is the vampire squid (Taningia danae), a member of the family Octopoteuthidae that primarily preys on fish, crustaceans, and various other squid species. Squids in the Octopoteuthidae family possess eight arms, which is why they are referred to as vampire squids. When young, they have two long tentacles that are lost in adulthood.
The individual of the vampire squid Dana is known for its enormous size. The longest specimen ever recorded was a female measuring 2.3 meters, according to a 2003 study. The squid in the recent video is approximately 75 cm long, as reported by UWA. It suddenly emerged from the darkness and darted toward the camera, wrapping its arms around the device before quickly retreating. Just before grabbing the camera, the squid used its two bioluminescent organs, known as photophores, located at the tips of its arms.
The vampire squid attacks the camera mistaking it for prey.
The photophores of the vampire squid Dana emit light through a chemical reaction. This is the largest bioluminescent organ in the animal kingdom, but scientists rarely witness this squid using its bioluminescence in action, according to Heather Stewart, a marine geologist at UWA. Researchers believe that the squid’s photophores help to immobilize prey in the dark waters of the deep sea while also communicating with each other. These squids can change their flashing patterns by manipulating a membrane resembling an eyelid that covers the luminescent organs.
Stewart explains that the squid in the video attacked the camera because it mistook it for prey and attempted to startle it with its bioluminescent light. Overall, researchers know very little about the behavior of the vampire squid Dana due to rarely encountering live specimens. Much of the documented information about this creature comes from stranded specimens, bycatch, or those retrieved from the stomachs of whales, according to Jamieson, director of the Center for Deep Sea Research at UWA. The first living specimen was discovered 19 years ago by researchers using similar camera systems.
