The Vampire Squid

Habitat and Range of the Vampire Squid.

Vampire squid are found in temperate and tropical deep-water zones worldwide at depths of 600 to 1200 m (1958 to 3937 ft). The water temperature at those depths is very cold, 2-6o C (35.6 to 42.8 o F) .

Discovery: The vampire squid was discovered during the Valdivia Expedition (1898–1899), led by Carl Chun. Chun was a zoologist who was inspired by the Challenger Expedition, and wanted to verify that life does indeed exist below 300 fathoms (550 meters).[5] Chun later classified the vampire squid into its family, Vampyroteuthidae.[3] This expedition was funded by the German society Gesellschaft Deutscher Naturforscher und Ärzte, a group of German scientists who believed there was life at depths greater than 550 meters, contrary to the Abyssus theory. Valdivia was fitted with equipment for the collection of deep-sea organisms, as well as laboratories and specimen jars, in order to analyze and preserve what was caught. The voyage began in Hamburg, Germany, followed by Edinburgh, and then traced around the west coast of Africa. After navigating around the southern point of Africa, the expedition studied deep areas of the Indian and Antarctic Ocean.[6] Researchers had not before discovered any species from this family that could be traced back to the Cenozoic. This suggests two ideas which include, a notable preservation bias called the Lazarus effect may exist or an inaccurate determination of when vampire squids originally settled in the deep oceans. The Lazarus effect may result from the scarcity of post-Cretaceous research regions or from the reduced abundance and distribution of vampire squids. In any case, even while the search regions remain the same, it is more difficult to locate and analyze them.[7][8]

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