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| Vampire of the deep. (Picture from: http://www.livescience.com/) |
Now the secret of vampire squid has been revealed. Although vampire named after, the squid does not suck blood or bite their prey, but only eat carrion or food debris on the ocean floor.
This strategy shows the unique adaptations that allow vampire squid spent most of his life in the depths of the ocean with low oxygen concentrations. The number of predators in the deep ocean is a little, "but the typical food cephalopods also rare," said Hendrik Joving and Bruce Robison, researchers from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, California, Friday September 28, 2012.
This squid was named Vampyroteuthis infernalis, which means "vampire squid from hell", because of his frightening. The squid's body-dark red and shaped like an umbrella is expanding.
Any movement around squid detected with sensitive eyes. It has a 2.5 inch sized eyes that reflect light dark blue that serves to scare predators when vampire squid swim to the surface.
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| The vampire squid is neither a squid nor an octopus. (Picture from: http://www.abc.net.au/) |
Species of cephalopods measuring 30 centimeters was first discovered in 1903. He lives in temperate and tropical oceans and inhabit the waters at a depth of 600-900 meters in a niche habitat with very low levels of oxygen to support life.
Both biologists said that the study is the result of their interaction with the vampire squid for 30 years through the underwater robot explorers, laboratory experiments, and surgical methods. Their work was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
They examine the gastrointestinal tract and feces of the vampire squid to know that these animals are detritivor (scavengers). The vampire squid will come and eat carrion or remains of dead sea creatures that sink slowly to the bottom of the sea and has been surrounded by Crustacea and zooplankton.
"That is still a big puzzle of all about the vampire squid is characteristic of his mouth," Robison said, as quoted by the website Phys. org. The vampire squid with open mouth condition looks like an open black umbrella. Wide mouth surrounded by eight arms are interconnected by webs of skin tissue forming a kind of black betwarna bag. His arms are decorated dozens of suckers and similar protrusions called cirri finger. *** [PHYS.ORG | MAHARDIKA SATRIA HADI | KORAN TEMPO 4012]
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