Vampyroteuthis vs. Teuthida

Vampyroteuthis vs. Teuthida

People used to believe that the oceans depths could not sustain life. Sunlight could not penetrate the ocean’s abyss and temperatures were too cold for any organisms to survive. This was proved wrong though, in 1858, when the first trans- Atlantic cable broke. When the cable was retrieved scientists discovered numerous undescribed deep sea organisms. Since then scientists have discovered many more organisms that are similar, yet different, to the organisms found in shallow water. For instance, the vampire squid, Vampyroteuthis is found in deep sea ocean habitats, while the squid, Teuthida is found in shallow water habitats. The Vampyroteuthis and the Teuthida are similar to each other in that they have eyes and arms, yet very different in that they live in different habitats, have different functions for their arms and eyes, and have different defense strategies when in contact with a predator.

The Vampyroteuthis is found in the deep sea habitat. They have very large eyes, which enables it to see well, since light is unable to reach these depths. The vampire squid had 8 long arms that have bioluminescent bacteria attached to them. They also have bioluminescent bacteria near their mantle, which is their mouth, to attract prey. When prey see bright flashy lights they swim toward it hoping that it is food, when in reality they are swimming directly into their predators mouth. They also have the ability to curl their arms around their body, almost as if they were turning themselves inside out. The vampire squid uses this strategy when they feel they are being attacked, in order to confuse their predators.

The Teuthida on the other hand live in shallow water habitats. They are able to locate their prey with sight because light penetrates the ocean at these depths. Their tentacles do not have bioluminescent bacteria on them; however they do have suckers and hooks that are used to catch their prey. Squids also have a beak, which is very sharp which is used to tear the meat off of the fish. When attacked the squid has the ability to squirt ink that confuse the predators while they get away.

The Vampyroteuthis and the Teuthida are similar creatures in that they both have eyes and arms that use used when hunting prey. The vampire squid has bigger eyes in order to locate its prey in the darkness, while the squid had smaller eyes because sunlight is able to penetrate the oceans surfaces. The vampire squid uses bioluminescent bacteria on its arms to help attract its prey, while the squid uses the suckers and hooks on its arm to catch prey. The vampire squid also had the ability to turn itself inside out when being attacked, while the squid is able to squirt out ink.

Work Cited:

"BBC - Wildlife Finder - Squid (videos, Sound Files, Facts, Photos and News Stories)." BBC - Homepage. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. ."National Geographic News: January 2010." Daily Nature and Science News and Headlines | National Geographic News. Web. 03 Oct. 2010. .