Monday, June 18, 2007

Vampire Squid from deep sea Hell


Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. Vampire squid is a small, deep-sea cirrate 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. It was first described and mistakenly identified as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun.It lives in3,281 FEET: Bathypelagic zone. 1 Km = 100 atm = 1,470 psi.The ocean is dark at this level; the only glow is from bioluminescent animals. There are no living plants, and creatures subsist by eating the debris that falls from the levels above, including dead or dying fish and plankton.