These photographs of Vampyroteuthis were taken insitu by an ROV of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The two photographs were taken from widely different areas in the North Pacific showing geographic differenences in coloration. The left image is a side view of the vampire in an unusual pose. Note the peculiar nature of the web in this posture which seems to suggest how the web can contract and expand. Also peculiar are the small epidermal photophores on the arms that seem to align in series. In the right image, the arms are aligned and the presence of a web is hardly noticed.
Figure. Vampyroteuthis infernalis. Left - Side view, central North Pacific. Right - Oblique-anterior view, Monterey Bay. Note the difference in color between the two. © MBARI
