World’s first vampire squid on display at Monterey Bay Aquarium

Two rare deep sea specimens are making their debut Thursday at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

This marks the first time that the deep sea vampire squid has gone on exhibit at any public aquarium, officials said. This so-called living fossil was collected Wednesday with help from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.

Also joining the new Tentacles exhibit is the midwater octopus, which can change its its appearance from see-through with spots to almost a solid orange color.

Despite its name, vampire squids subsist mainly on so-called marine snow – a not-so appetizing combination of mucus, poop and decaying dead animals.

Vampire squid