165-Million-Year-Old “Vampire” Creature Reveals a Deadly Secret

It looked like something from a nightmare — but this strange creature was swimming through Jurassic seas 165 million years ago.

Paleontologists have identified a previously unknown genus and species of vampyromorph coleoid from an exceptionally preserved fossil discovered at the Middle Jurassic La Voulte-sur-Rhône Lagerstätte in France.

Named Vampyrofugiens atramentum, the ancient animal belonged to a mysterious group related to today’s vampire squid.

Despite its name, the modern vampire squid is not actually a true squid. These unusual cephalopods combine characteristics associated with both octopuses and squids, making them particularly important for understanding the evolutionary history of these animals.

The newly identified species appears to have been a free-swimming predator in the Jurassic ocean. But researchers say its anatomy reveals something even more intriguing.

Its fossil preserves evidence of an ink sac, a feature that could have allowed the creature to release ink and disappear into the surrounding water when threatened.

That suggests Vampyrofugiens atramentum may have faced predators of its own.

Even more remarkably, researchers identified a combination of defensive and predatory adaptations that has not previously been recognized in the coleoid fossil record.

The creature therefore appears to have been equipped with more than one way to survive: it could hunt, but it could also hide.

For 165 million years, its fossil remained buried in French rock, preserving clues about a strange Jurassic predator and the dangers lurking beneath the ancient sea.

And perhaps the most fascinating question is this:

What was hunting the “vampire” when it needed to disappear?