…and this is a 
Mysterious marine whatsis
Category: Cephalopods • Organisms • Reproduction
Posted on: October 29, 2006 4:18 PM, by PZ Myers
Strange things are found in the sea, like this mysterious gelatinous blob bobbing about in the Norwegian fjords.
On Oct. 1 Rudolf and his brother Erling were diving when he spotted the unusual object.
"It was 50-70 centimeters (19.5-27.5 inches) in diameter and looked like a huge beach ball. It was transparent but had a kind of thick, red cord in the middle. It was a bit science-fiction," Svensen told newspaper Bergens Tidende's web site.
It's something cool: a large squid egg sac. Mmmmm…two-foot diameter ball of squid eggs.
Comments
This sounds like a bit of a shame, actually. Most cephalopods are solicitous parents, so an egg sack drifting free would imply that momma was off being crab-bait.
Posted by: apikoros | October 29, 2006 4:48 PM
actually, squids are less than dutiful parents. Most simply lay eggs and croak.
octopus and argonauts on the other hand, do tend to stick around for egg care.
not sure about cuttlefish, but I think most are like squid (lay eggs and croak).
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
a short but extraordinary life is the cephs lot.
Posted by: Ichthyic | October 29, 2006 5:05 PM
Down in the Gulf, we call these things 'globsters' when they are found washed up on the shore. I've been told that its whale vomit or blubber, algea colonies, or even sea monster, um, fluid.
Posted by: SpringheelJ | October 29, 2006 5:10 PM
Ichthyic, cuttlefish lay their eggs in eggcases, which they then judiciously attach to coral or rocks, then scoot.
Or die.
I'm not sure which, though I have a book with a photo of a cuttlefish in an aquarium showing mama adjusting her freshly secreted eggcase on a branch of decorative coral.
Posted by: Stanton | October 29, 2006 5:48 PM
Its rover!
Posted by: archgoon | October 29, 2006 7:31 PM
"Mmmmm...two-foot diameter ball of squid eggs."
Damn! That's gonna take a lot of vinegared rice and dried seaweed.
Posted by: Joshua | October 30, 2006 11:32 AM
I love it when metric to english (and vice versa) conversions are taken very literally. When I was working in Sweden, I watched the Simpsons on TV. In the ep where a new girl comes to school and has all the girls but Lisa wearing designer outfits, the new girl tells Lisa she could stand to lose 5 pounds. Or in the translation, 2.5 kilos.
Somehow I doubt Ruploph would have ever said the sac was 19.5-27.5 inches.
Posted by: Mike | October 30, 2006 8:59 PM