Friday Cephalopod: Wicked cool : Pharyngula

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« Double Molly opportunity! | Main | Wunderpus photogenicus »

Friday Cephalopod: Wicked cool

Category: Cephalopods • Organisms
Posted on: August 17, 2007 6:00 AM, by PZ Myers

(click for larger image)
Vampyroteuthis infernalis

Figure from The Deep^{(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll)}, by Claire Nouvian.

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Comments

Posted by: AbsolutelyNoFaith | August 17, 2007 6:20 AM

Oh, man. You chose my absolute favorite! There's something about the deep, deep sea that fascinates me. I remember the first time I saw video of this bad boy. I was watching a documentary about the deep sea and they showed this amazing alien in our backyard. While it's an amazing display, I have a feeling he's just all the rest of us really cool bad boys, he's just a big softy at heart. Just look at the cool ones like PZ, Dawkins and Dennet. When you actually meet them, they're soft-spoken, gentle and kind. But try and throw some woo-woo their way, and they flip inside out showing the spines and horned beak of their reason and brilliant minds.

Ok, so I took that a bit too far, but you get my drift. :-)

ANF

Posted by: Despard | August 17, 2007 6:24 AM

Yay, the vampire squid from hell!

Posted by: weemaryanne | August 17, 2007 6:38 AM

Do I understand we're actually looking at the inside of this creature? Except it's momentarily on the outside? Now I'm thoroughly confused.

Posted by: Carlie | August 17, 2007 6:38 AM

It's Cephalocactus!

Posted by: SEF | August 17, 2007 7:05 AM

Very spiky - and good use of black leather with bloodied points (even if only in lighting effects).

Posted by: Brian | August 17, 2007 7:08 AM

That's a head foot? More like a hinge will nails.....

Posted by: Brian | August 17, 2007 7:10 AM

I mean hinge with nails. Damn beer! mmmm sweet beer.
Post denied! obviously your definition of a short amount of time is longer than mine. :)

Posted by: JVC | August 17, 2007 7:15 AM

I could not work out what it was for a second. I like these slightly more 'arty' cephalopods.

Posted by: DaveX | August 17, 2007 8:06 AM

There was one of these on the BBC "Earth" DVD set. It was that evening's favorite portion of our viewing. Speaking of which, that is a terrific set of DVDs, should you have the chance to pick it up...

#10

Posted by: Martin Christensen | August 17, 2007 8:10 AM

That looks like an apt biological expression of 'pwned'.

Martin Christensen

#11

Posted by: sailor | August 17, 2007 8:21 AM

"Do I understand we're actually looking at the inside of this creature? Except it's momentarily on the outside? Now I'm thoroughly confused."

The video below will explain all (well nearly)- It is very cool

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3PvvT_Ktx8

#12

Posted by: Stanton | August 17, 2007 9:29 AM

It's in its "pineapple" phase, right?

#13

Posted by: Nan | August 17, 2007 9:43 AM

Very cool.

#14

Posted by: Kat | August 17, 2007 11:10 AM

Sailor, thank you for posting the link to that video.

#15

Posted by: Glenn | August 17, 2007 11:17 AM

Awesome creature. I wish I was reversible.

Warning: Do not look directly at the YouTube comments. Retinal damage may result.

#16

Posted by: clamboy | August 17, 2007 12:05 PM

Gothest. Animal. Ever. Oh, and may I add: Gothest. Taxonomical designation. Ever. Darkest dark!

#17

Posted by: Galbinus_Caeli | August 17, 2007 12:06 PM

Are those sharp/hard thorns? Or soft tentaclettes?

#18

Posted by: Steve_C | August 17, 2007 12:11 PM

I got a bauhaus song to play for that bad boy.

#19

Posted by: clamboy | August 17, 2007 12:24 PM

Undead, undead, undead...

#20

Posted by: Rich | August 17, 2007 1:03 PM

Yay!

#21

Posted by: LisaS | August 17, 2007 1:42 PM

Richard Young has a cool site of the vampire squid with some photos and details at http://tolweb.org/vampyroteuthis_infernalis . It says "The vampire squid is rather small, reaching a maximum of 13cm ML and is very gelatinous; its consistency is that of a jellyfish". And to think it looks so ferocious in the photo!

#22

Posted by: sgr | August 17, 2007 3:12 PM

Reminds me of a comment seen on GrammarPolice, which gets my Oscar nod for the Most Improbable Sentence:

"I once set out to crochet a set of my favorite marine invertebrates, but got only as far as Vampyroteuthis infernalis."

#23

Posted by: pjp | August 17, 2007 3:45 PM

It's so cool I almost shit my pants.

#24

Posted by: Mark (Monty) Montague | August 17, 2007 4:01 PM

I'm pretty sure the cirri are soft, not hard. When the "pineapple posture" was first observed, it was thought that it was a feeding posture, and when small animals bumped the cirri, it would rapidly flip back rightside-out and capture the prey. From that cool video Sailor just posted (thanks!) it sounds like it's now thought to be more defensive, I guess.

#25

Posted by: forsen | August 17, 2007 6:43 PM

If this animal has an intelligent designer, it's H. R. Giger.

#26

Posted by: Noadi | August 17, 2007 9:20 PM

*Adds to her list of cephalopods to sculpt.*

#27

Posted by: Rey Fox | August 17, 2007 11:12 PM

On a related note, has anyone checked out Vampire Squid From Hell's latest album "Devouring the Aubergine of God"? Wicked brutal.

#28

Posted by: john | January 15, 2008 4:55 PM

you see the funny thing is the cirri are soft, in a resent discovery they found they are antenna like strucktures are used to detect pray, there spiny ball is there feeding posture, and when there fritened, as fas as invertabrit marine animal, they kick some ass.