Vampire squid a human's inner ear) and ammonium-rich gelatinous tissues closely matching the density of the surrounding seawater. Like many deep-sea cephalopods, the vampire squid lacks ink sacs. If disturbed, it will curl its arms up outwards and wrap them around its body, turning itself inside-out in a way, exposing spiny projections. If highly agitated, it may eject a sticky cloud of bioluminescent mucus containing innumerable orbs of blue light from the arm tips. This luminous barrage, which may last nearly 10 minutes, would presumably serve to daze would-be predators and allow the vampire squid to disappear into the blackness without the
Colossal squid study on the specimen later showed its actual weight was , but it only measured in total length as a result of the tentacles' shrinking "post mortem". On February 22, 2007, authorities in New Zealand announced the largest known colossal squid had been captured. The specimen weighed and was initially estimated to measure in total length. Fishermen on the vessel "San Aspiring", owned by the Sanford Seafood Company, caught the animal in the freezing Antarctic waters of the Ross Sea. It was brought to the surface as it fed on an Antarctic toothfish that had been caught off a long