Vampyroteuthis Infernalis

The Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. “vampire squid from hell”) 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 (formerly Vampyromorpha), though it shares similarities with both squid and octopuses. As a phylogenetic relict it is the only known surviving member of its order, first described and mistakenly identified as an octopus in 1903 by German teuthologist Carl Chun.