Lost vampire squid fossil rediscovered

[Eldorado]

Vampire squid have been lurking in the dark corners of the ocean for 30 million years, a new analysis of a long-lost fossil finds.

Modern-day vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) can thrive in deep, oxygen-poor ocean water, unlike many other squid species that require shallower habitat along continental shelves. Few fossil ancestors of today's vampire squid survive, though, so scientists aren't sure when these elusive cephalopods evolved the ability to live with little oxygen. 

The new fossil analysis helps to fill a 120-million-year gap in vampire squid evolution, revealing that the ancestors of modern-day vampire squid already lived in the deep oceans during the Oligocene, 23 million to 34 million years ago.

MSN