Friday Cephalopod: Southern Blue-Ringed Octopus : Pharyngula

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« Friday Anthropoid: Cephalopod man | Main | Death of science by multiple organ system failure »

Friday Cephalopod: Southern Blue-Ringed Octopus

Category: Organisms
Posted on: April 14, 2006 7:44 AM, by PZ Myers

Hapalochlaena maculosa

Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide ^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}, by Mark Norman.

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Friday Ark #82 from Modulator
We'll post links to sites that have Friday (plus or minus a few days) photos of their chosen animals (photoshops at our discretion and humans only in supporting roles). Watch the Exception category for rocks, beer, coffee cups, and....? We will add you... Read More
Tracked on April 16, 2006 12:29 PM

Comments

Posted by: NelC | April 14, 2006 7:48 AM

Pretty!

Btw, I think you forgot to close an italic tag.

Posted by: Moses | April 14, 2006 7:56 AM

This one is pretty...

Posted by: Wayne | April 14, 2006 7:58 AM

Pretty pretty! And isn't it lethal?

Posted by: diane | April 14, 2006 8:00 AM

It's smiling at us!

Posted by: Ben McIlwain | April 14, 2006 8:01 AM

Nice octopode, PZ. And yeah, the italics is a bit funky, but that's just an homage to this gorgeous octopode, right?

Posted by: llewelly | April 14, 2006 8:19 AM

Beautiful. And deadly.

Posted by: fontor | April 14, 2006 8:23 AM

Oo, we get those over here in Australia.

If you get stung by one, you stay alive, but muscle paralysis ensues, and you lose the ability to breathe or pump blood on your own. You can ride it out with help (chest compression and artificial respiration), but in some cases people have died because their friends thought they were already dead and gave up on them.

So remember -- they are cute, but don't touch. And don't give up on your mates.

Posted by: Elf Eye | April 14, 2006 8:43 AM

Every Friday I catch my breath at the beauty of these creatures. Thank you, PZ, for creating that weekly moment of wonder.

Posted by: John Wilkins | April 14, 2006 8:49 AM

We used to colelct these as kids in Melbourne until there was a death of some kid and all the media got het up about them. They're very pretty but, as fontor noted, rather dangerous, especially at their prettiest (the blue rings indicate danger!).

Of course, nearly all the poisonous and dangerous things live in Australia, so don't come over here...

#10

Posted by: rrt | April 14, 2006 8:52 AM

John, that's one of my biggest reasons for being squeamish about visiting your wonderful land...and I'm a biology geek! But dang, so many of your very cool critters are also (seemingly) out to get me! =)

#11

Posted by: Ronald Brak | April 14, 2006 8:53 AM

I'm not that poisonous and dangerous, so come on over.

#12

Posted by: Philip Brooks | April 14, 2006 9:08 AM

This is off-topic, but I thought you might be interested:

The Pope is pulling a George Bush State-of-the-Union "genetic engineering is evil" deal: http://pbrooks.livejournal.com/2940.html

#13

Posted by: Torbjörn Larsson | April 14, 2006 9:44 AM

"Of course, nearly all the poisonous and dangerous things live in Australia, so don't come over here..."

Mmm, I like (not) those braininfesting freshwater amoebas. Two deadly species, isn't it?

But Thailand has such nasties too, and I braved that (by not bathing in freshwater ponds) so maybe I can try Australia next.

#14

Posted by: Ma3rk | April 14, 2006 10:36 AM

I had to a paper on venomous mammals, and ended up having to go through book after book of venomous animals. It made me very paranoid, and caused me to formulate some questions like:

WHY DO PEOPLE STAY IN AUSTRALIA??

So, Aussies, as you walk down the street, what is the average distance between twitching bodies? 10 meters? 7?

#15

Posted by: Rocky | April 14, 2006 10:43 AM

What a gorgeous cephalopod!!!
This venom this octopus has "on hand" me wonder what past cephalopods were capable of, but the fossil record will never reveal.
Same with Mosasaur, if they are varinid reptile, could there saliva have had the same venomous qualities as a Komodo Dragon?

#16

Posted by: June | April 14, 2006 10:46 AM

I know knitting is not quite up your alley, but I thought this might entertain:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEspring06/PATTnautie.html

#17

Posted by: CCP | April 14, 2006 11:26 AM

So tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a fascinating molecule...found in a ridiculous variety of animals, in (probably) all cases due to a commensal bacterium (certainly so in the octopus shown), cause of fugu-sashimi poisoning (reportedly relished because, when prepared just right, it tingles the tongue), it works by physically plugging up the voltage-gated sodium channel proteins that are responsible for all action potentials and therefore all neuron and muscle-cell function. Some good info and links to good TTX stories (look for the gartersnakes adapting to tetrodotoxic newt prey, and the link to the Straight Dope discussion on zombie-making):

http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/ttx/ttx.htm
http://www.life.umd.edu/grad/mlfsc/zctsim/tetrodo.html

#18

Posted by: Kristjan Wager | April 14, 2006 11:36 AM

John, come on - Australia is not that bad. I have been there 6 or 7 times, and only once have I nearly stepped on a deadly snake (which just ignored me). You are just trying to scare people away, so you can have the surf beaches for yourself, right?

#19

Posted by: wamba | April 14, 2006 11:57 AM

Does everyone else see the smiling face?

#20

Posted by: Mrs Tilton | April 14, 2006 12:26 PM

Ooh, how beautiful! The prettiest ceph you've given us yet, I think.

I have heard that one reason for fugu-eating in Japan is not only that the fish is delicious, but that there will be minute trace amounts of tetrodotoxin even in properly prepared fugu; not enough to, y'know, kill you and all, but enough to create a uniquely pleasurable buzz.

There are brain-devouring amoebae in North America, BTW, so avoiding Australia will not keep you safe.

#21

Posted by: CCP | April 14, 2006 12:34 PM

"trace amounts of tetrodotoxin even in properly prepared fugu..."
right, yes, that's what I meant above...that the fugu sashimi was relished, not, um, the poisoning. Poor wording. Though I guess poison's just in the dose.

#22

Posted by: craig | April 14, 2006 2:33 PM

Whatta they mean blue RINGED? Those are DOTS!

#23

Posted by: Kristjan Wager | April 14, 2006 4:01 PM

There are brain-devouring amoebae in North America, BTW, so avoiding Australia will not keep you safe.

So that's what happened to Bush.

#24

Posted by: John Wilkins | April 14, 2006 7:13 PM

WHY DO PEOPLE STAY IN AUSTRALIA??

So, Aussies, as you walk down the street, what is the average distance between twitching bodies? 10 meters? 7?

Well that depends. In places where only the locals go, the dead body rate is nigh on vanishing. But where American and British (and occasionally German) tourists go, the rate is 2 every 10m, although the dingoes usually finish up the remains before the local council can tidy them up, so I'm just going by the pelvises and skulls.

You are just trying to scare people away, so you can have the surf beaches for yourself, right?

Why on earth would you think that?

[We had a couple of American academics visiting us a while back, so we pulled out the "poisonous and dangerous Australian animals" books and watched them twitch. They were worried to even leave the house after that. Good thing we didnt tell them about drop bears.]

#25

Posted by: Melee | April 14, 2006 7:20 PM

Drop bears and hoop snakes make me proud to be an Aussie. Never has anything brought a tear to my eye like watching complete strangers of Oz expats brought together by the tellling of drop bear stories to Americans. It always goes best on top of a story about blue ringed octopi, irukandi jellyfish, white tail spiders, and the many many snakes. Ah. I miss home.

#26

Posted by: Tony Smith | April 14, 2006 8:55 PM

craig, they are rings around the tentacles and spots on the mantle.

These little critters are also reputed to hang out in CocaCola cans, clearly seeing an affinity with another fancily packaged poison.

The most likely time to find dead bodies every 10 metres is on our roads at Easter, but tourists do keep finding novel ways of getting themselves killed by anything from overly casual dive tour operators, to crocodiles or even serial killers.

Just because you can almost trip over some of our critters while walking a well worn track, does not mean they have you on their lunch menu.

#27

Posted by: Torbjörn Larsson | April 14, 2006 10:13 PM

"There are brain-devouring amoebae in North America, BTW, so avoiding Australia will not keep you safe."

Now you tell me; I fished and canoed in US. I wonder if I have any brain left?

#28

Posted by: craig | April 14, 2006 11:47 PM

Does everyone else see the smiling face?

Yep! It's just a little above and to the left of the Virgin Mary.

#29

Posted by: Ronald Brak | April 15, 2006 12:36 AM

Smiling face? Smiling face? Suddenly KA-CHING! I see it! And I saw her face! And I'm a believer!

#30

Posted by: leah | April 15, 2006 7:45 AM

that picture is bloody awesome. and as an aussie, telling tourists stories about poisonous sea creatures, sharks, spiders, snakes, vicious marsupials etc.. is great fun. We have 6 of the top 10 most deadly snakes, and even some innocous looking animals are dangerous- the platypus has an incredibly painful venom, and wombats are bloody scary if you anger them- they're incredibly fast and built like tanks and they can bite.

And there was a story in the papers here recently about some thieves who tried to steal a koala from a zoo, but it clawed at them so much they let it go and ended up stealing a crocodile instead!

plus, if you survive all the snakes and spiders, and all the dangerous sea creatures- box jellyfish, irukandij, the southern blue-ring octopus, saltwater crocodiles, freshwater crocodiles, stone fish, great white sharks etc.. well, then you've still got to contend with the outback- every year there are tourists who get lost in the bush without water or food, or who fall off cliffs or burn themselves around campfires, or get hit by falling gum tree branches (more common than you'd think) and think up new and creative ways to kill themselves- a Darwin Awards paradise for the adventurous if you will.

But it's a great place- I highly recommend you visit. the weather's brilliant, and right now I'm looking over sydney harbour, which is flat as a pancake, and the perfect place to go for a kayak.

we don't really mind the tourists taking our beaches, cos most of them go to places like bondi or manly anyway, so the ones off the beaten track are still there for locals. bondi beach on christmas day is like mecca for british backpackers, it's crazy.

cheers,

leah

#31

Posted by: Chris | April 15, 2006 8:56 AM

John Wilkins wrote:

"Of course, nearly all the poisonous and dangerous things live in Australia, so don't come over here..."

You're talking about the philosophers now, aren't you?

Chris

#32

Posted by: Kristjan Wager | April 15, 2006 10:25 AM

But it's a great place- I highly recommend you visit. the weather's brilliant, and right now I'm looking over sydney harbour, which is flat as a pancake, and the perfect place to go for a kayak.

Do you still get the occational shark in Sydney bay?

I am not saying that Australia is deadly by any means, but last time I travelled there (opposed to just visitng relatives in Perth), I missed a hurricane that hit Darwin by 4 hours (we left before it arrived), I nearly stepped on a poisonous snake, I had to flee from a bushfire, there was a mass killing in Tasmania (which should date that trip to the Aussies here), and there was a major flooding on the East coast that I nearly got caught in - we drove from Canberra up North, planning to stay in Townsville, but since there was too much rain, we decided to continue up to Cairns. By the time we arrived in Cairns, the roads were flooded, and several people had died.

Australia is obviously not dangerous at all.

This BTW was the same trip in which I was in the UK while a massmurder happened in a Scottish school, a (none too big) vulcano eruption happened while I was in New Zealand, several planes crashed, including the TWA flight from JFK, just one or two days before I left for Iceland from there.

#33

Posted by: PZ Myers | April 15, 2006 10:35 AM

Isn't the lesson from this that tourist boards ought to pay you to stay home?

#34

Posted by: Kristjan Wager | April 15, 2006 10:47 AM

They'd have a hard time matching the annual funding from the state of Denmark getting me to leave the country for long stretches of time.

#35

Posted by: Wesley R. Elsberry | April 16, 2006 12:51 AM

Australia? The last place I saw one of those was in the friendly neighborhood pet shop when I was living in Gainesville, Florida. I asked the proprietor about it; he said it was going to the Florida Museum of Natural History that afternoon.

#36

Posted by: sydney | August 13, 2006 11:32 AM

I am never going swimming in an ocean again!

#37

Posted by: sydney | August 13, 2006 11:34 AM

it is so cute!!!!!!!!

#38

Posted by: Karla | January 5, 2008 9:11 PM

i think that this beautiful sea creature is one of the most amaizin animal i have ever seen and studied b-4 like the female has about 50-100 eggs and once they hatch the mom dies and then the dad dies to. i cant belive that they live up tp 2 years only and that they are as big as a golf ball wen they reach adult hood(size). they never will get to see their sons and daughters or their grandchildren. they will only atack u if u tuch them and if u bug them all the time so remember donot tuch them and throw things at them cuz they will atack u and bite u and u will die. te thins that u will feel are some numness and then u wont feel your lips and u and then u wont fell ur body...!!!! im tellin u KEEP AWAY FROM THEM IF U DONT WANT TO DEI DONT touch them or provock them either that cases them to bite u... have funn!! bye

#39

Posted by: Karla | January 5, 2008 9:11 PM

#40

Posted by: April | January 5, 2008 9:22 PM

THIS ANIMAL IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) :) :) :) :) :) :) DONT U THINK THE SAME AS ME WELL U SHOULD CUZ IF U DONT U SUCK
MMMMMMMMMMMMMUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA...........................................???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

#41

Posted by: alyssa | May 13, 2008 6:10 PM

that is not a jelly fish that is a blue ringed octopus please go to google and type in blue ring octopus and see for your self.