A dark body, large eyes and a membrane between the arms: Vampyroteuthis infernalis has a name that prepares to meet a frightening predator. For a long time, biologists have struggled to understand its diet. The stomach contents of the specimens returned to the surface gave clues that were difficult to interpret.
Researchers at the MBARI have combined underwater videos, live animal observations and microscopic examinations. Their study published in 2012 describes a collection of organic debris. The animal spreads fine filaments, captures particles and then gathers them with mucus before carrying them to its mouth.
Its food belongs to the “sea snow”, these remains that descend from the upper layers of the ocean. The name evokes blood; the observations show above all a consumer of matter already detached from the living. In a low-oxygen environment, this diet accompanies an economical lifestyle. The most unexpected detail is therefore not an attack, but the patience of an animal waiting for its meal to fall on it.
What we know
Mainly detritivorous diet; does not mean that no small living organism can be ingested.
To go to the source
References consulted on 3 October 2026. Linked pages may be in another language.
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