![]() Its scientific name, Vampyroteuthis infernalis, literally means “vampire squid of Hell”! While it does not suck blood like its mythical namesake, the vampire squid is a “living relic” that evolved from an ancestor of the octopus, and its lineage goes back 165 million years in the fossil record. Its huge, bright blue eyes - proportionally the largest in the animal kingdom - dark color, and the velvety, cloak-like webbing that connects its arms give the vampire squid its common name. ![]() ![]() Originally thought to be an octopus because it lacks the two long tentacles that usually extend past a squid’s eight arms, the vampire squid possesses characteristics of both squid and octopi, and occupies its own order in taxonomy (scientific classification). The vampire squid is a small ( 12-inch-long ) cephalopod found in deep temperate and tropical seas.
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