Nature · 2
What unusual defensive maneuver does the vampire squid perform when threatened by a predator in the deep ocean?
Answer
It turns its arms inside-out over its body while releasing a mucus cloud
The vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) can invert its webbed arms over its body like a cloak, exposing spiny projections while it releases a sticky mucus cloud to confuse predators and slip away undetected.
💡 Did you know?
Vampire squid turns itself inside-out like a living parka, cloaking predators in a mucus cloud while it escapes undetected.
Other options people guess
- It shoots a jet of black ink like most other squid species
- It rapidly changes skin color to blend into the seafloor
- It buries itself in deep-sea sediment until the threat passes
Topics
- deep-sea
- cephalopods
- marine-biology
- defense-mechanisms
Know your nature trivia?
Play a free Nature quiz and see how many you get right — no signup needed to start.
More Nature facts
Nature
Which deep-sea fish navigates almost entirely by detecting weak electrical fields generated by the muscle movements of nearby prey?
Sharks can detect electrical fields as weak as one-billionth of a volt — so sensitive they can sense a prey animal's heartbeat through sand.
Nature
Lacking an ink sac like true squid, what does the vampire squid release instead to help it vanish from predators?
Vampire squid turns itself inside-out like a living parka, cloaking predators in a mucus cloud while it escapes undetected.
Nature
What nickname have marine biologists given to the Atolla jellyfish's defensive bioluminescent display, which summons a bigger predator to attack its attacker?
Atolla jellyfish detonate bioluminescent alarm 'burglar alarms' when attacked, summoning larger predators to scare off their attacker.
Nature
After a tarantula hawk wasp stings and paralyzes a tarantula, what happens to the spider before it eventually dies?
Tarantulas and wasps enter deadly combat, but some wasps lay eggs on paralyzed tarantulas anyway—the spider becomes a living incubator for wasp larvae.
Nature
What popular nickname do scientists sometimes use for the underground mycorrhizal fungal network that lets trees share nutrients with their neighbors?
Mycorrhizal fungi connect tree roots underground, allowing trees to "trade" nutrients with neighbors—even sending carbon to injured trees to heal them.
Nature
Which mammal is known for following the greater honeyguide bird's chattering calls to find wild beehives, then tearing them open for both species to share?
Honey badgers intentionally team up with birds called honeyguide birds—the birds find beehives, badgers break them open, then both share the spoils.