by Quinton Clonce

The Vampire squid. A very unusual group of words, and real life nightmare fuel. So, as it turns out, scientists are still discovering more and more of nature’s cruel jokes in the ocean, on average 18,000 a year.  

You’d think there would be a few of them that would strike you as funny, or strange, or maybe even beautiful. What you wouldn’t expect is a squid that can not only live in inhospitable deep-sea environments, but can live for 100s of years.

The “Vampyroteuthis infernalis”, which literally translates to “Vampire squid of hell,” is an extremely endangered subspecies of squid that scientists are struggling to research because they are quickly dying out in captivity for unknown reasons. The reason these squids were given such a name is because while they thrive in the high pressure darkness of the ocean, they give off a luminescence that gives them an extremely ominous appearance.

This might just be me, but maybe we should just leave these things alone, they were doing fine in nature with a healthy population. But scientists want to get their grubby hands on the glow-in-the-dark nightmare squid, and since these squids die quickly in captivity, more need to be caught and researched. It seems to be a loop that doesn’t look like it will end soon enough for the little guys. But, there are now scientists trying to research them in their natural habitats, albeit with some difficulty.