npr:
Just how giant are a giant squid’s eyes? It’s a question that’s vexed scientists for a long time, given that giant squids are rarely found while still alive. Then researchers tracked down a picture of a dying giant squid taken in 1981. In the photo, there’s a fuel hose crossing the eye’s pupil. The researchers used the size of this standard hose to calculate the eye’s dimensions. The whole unblinking eye was about 10.5 inches across; the pupil was about 3.5 inches across. -@acarvin
Mike deGruy: “Hooked by an Octopus”
In this TED talk, the late underwater filmmaker and Biologist Mike deGruy (who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in Australia around a week ago) talks about the importance of conserving the deep sea and his inspiration in the octopus.
(via myowncorner)
Noise pollution in the oceans has been shown to cause physical and behavioral changes in marine life, especially in dolphins and whales, which rely on sound for daily activities. However, low frequency sound produced by large scale, offshore activities is also suspected to have the capacity to cause harm to other marine life as well. (Credit: © Mykel / Fotolia)
It is a living fossil whose ancestors go back a half billion years — to the early days of complex life on the planet, when the land was barren and the seas were warm
Naturalists have long marveled at its shell. The logarithmic spiral echoes the curved arms of hurricanes and distant galaxies. In Florence, the Medicis turned the pearly shells into ornate cups and pitchers adorned with gold and rubies.
Now, scientists say, humans are loving the chambered nautilus to death, throwing its very existence into danger…. (read more)
Thanks for the link, Sarah
The words Cephalopod and love just seem to go together too well! An MD/Ph.D Student, Mike Lisieski runs this amazing blog, which I’m certain will provide much new material for this one! Please check it out!
(source of photo here)
The firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans) (also known as sparkling enope squid) is a small member of the squid family, growing to a length of only 3”. It is found at depths of 600-1200’ in the Western Pacific ocean. What makes this squid so beautiful and amazing is that it is bio-luminescent; equipped with special light-producing organs called photophores. These photophores are found on many parts of the squid’s body and emit a deep blue light. The lights can be flashed in unison or alternated in an endless number of patterns. These light shows are thought to serve several functions. They can be used to communicate with potential mates or rivals. They may also be used to disguise the squid’s shape and confuse predators, allowing it to escape.
(Source)
Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish (Metasepia pfefferi) is a species of cuttlefish occurring in tropical Indo-Pacific waters off northern Australia, southern New Guinea, as well as numerous islands of the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. Mark Norman of the Museum Victoria inQueensland, Australia, and the third cephalopod found to be toxic.
![With the exception of the Nautilidae and the species of octopus belonging to the suborder Cirrina,[23] all known cephalopods have an ink sac, which can be used to expel a cloud of dark ink to confuse predators.[12] This sac is a muscular bag which originated as an extension of the hind gut. It lies beneath the gut and opens into the anus, into which its contents – almost pure melanin – can be squirted; its proximity to the base of the funnel means the ink can be distributed by ejected water as the cephalopod uses its jet propulsion.[12] The ejected cloud of melanin is usually mixed, upon expulsion, with mucus, produced elsewhere in the mantle, and therefore forms a thick cloud, resulting in visual (and possibly chemosensory) impairment of the predator, like a smokescreen. However, a more sophisticated behaviour has been observed, in which the cephalopod releases a cloud, with a greater mucus content, that approximately resembles the cephalopod that released it (this decoy is referred to as a pseudomorph). This strategy often results in the predator attacking the pseudomorph, rather than its rapidly departing prey.[12] For more information, see Inking behaviors.
The inking behaviour of cephalopods has led to a common name of “inkfish”, primarily used in fisheries science and the fishing industry, paralleling the terms white fish, oily fish, andshellfish.](http://www.exploringnature.org/graphics/mollusks/squid_diagram_color72.jpg)
