Freaky Fish #1: Vampire Squid - Oceana USA
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October 1, 2008

Freaky Fish #1: Vampire Squid

In case you didn’t get the memo, starting today we’re doing our annual Freaky Fish contest all October long. I’ll feature one of the 13 fish every few days on the blog, and you can vote on your favorite. If the one you pick wins, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a pair of free tickets to an IMAX screening of “Deep Sea 3D!” Plus, one voter will also win a copy of Claire Nouvian’s beautiful book The Deep (from which we culled the weirdest and most terrifying monstrosities for this contest.) So, without further ado, our first freaky fish:Vampire squid (“from hell”)Vampyroteuthis infernalisThis creature is like an octopus-squid hybrid — it has eight arms like an octopus, but it also has long retractable filaments that squids use for hunting. When it feels threatened, it spits bioluminescent clouds from the end of its arms, and it can also go into “pumpkin” or “pineapple posture,” inverting its arms over the body so it’s covered in spines. See the rest of the fish and cast your vote at http://oceana.org/freaky-fish-contest.