Friday Cephalopod: Twenty appendages at once
Category: Cephalopods • Organisms
Posted on: September 14, 2007 6:00 AM, by PZ Myers
Sepioteuthis sepioidea
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Search this blog
Profile
PZ Myers is a biologist and associate professor at the University of Minnesota, Morris.
…and this is a pharyngula stage embryo.
• a longer profile of yours truly
• my calendar
• Nature Network
• RichardDawkins Network
• facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Atheist Nexus
• the Pharyngula chat room
(#pharyngula on irc.synirc.net)
I reserve the right to publicly post, with full identifying information about the source, any email sent to me that contains threats of violence.
Random Quote
(Complete listing)You have no right to erect your toll-gate upon the highways of thought.
[Robert G. Ingersoll, The Ghosts]
Recent Posts
- Carnivalia and an open thread
- Create dollars for education by clicking
- Friday Cephalopod: Bigfin cruiser
- Surprise! McCain doesn't persuade me to switch my vote with his VP choice
- Greg & PZ's Excellent Party
- The recent bigfoot flap…a little late
- Say happy birthday to Zeno
- A token of my respect for you crafty folk
- They're joking, right?
- Pop-sci book meme
A Taste of Pharyngula
(Complete listing)Vertebral variation, Hox genes, development, and cancer
An updated book list for evolutionists
Digit numbering and limb development
Recent Comments
- johannes on Surprise! McCain doesn't persuade me to switch my vote with his VP choice
- laptop batteries on No comment
- Dan B. on Carnivalia and an open thread
- clinteas on Surprise! McCain doesn't persuade me to switch my vote with his VP choice
- Iain Walker on Matthew Cobb and Jerry Coyne write a letter
- scooter on Surprise! McCain doesn't persuade me to switch my vote with his VP choice
- Goldfish on Surprise! McCain doesn't persuade me to switch my vote with his VP choice
- Cheezits on Matthew Cobb and Jerry Coyne write a letter
- Kobra on Carnivalia and an open thread
- Iain Walker on Matthew Cobb and Jerry Coyne write a letter
Archives
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- June 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
Blogroll
(Complete listing)Other Information
Subscribe via Email
Stay abreast of your favorite bloggers' latest and greatest via e-mail, via a daily digest.
« Yay! New Roy Zimmerman! | Main | Bring back the OTA »
Sepioteuthis sepioidea
Find more posts in: 
Life Science
TrackBacks
(TrackBack URL for this entry: )
Comments
But what does it use them all for?
Posted by: Deborah | September 14, 2007 6:09 AM
Deborah, it's not *IT* it's them. Use your imagination ;-)
Posted by: Fernando Magyar | September 14, 2007 6:38 AM
Crimminy, I meant to say THEY not them. Where's my coffee?!
Posted by: Fernando Magyar | September 14, 2007 6:40 AM
While researching these fine specimens (especially curious about the morphological implications of the title) I came across this sad fact:
"Like other cephalopods, the Caribbean Reef Squid, is semelparous, dying after reproducing."
What a shame.
(Of course most of you may have known this - but why didn't anyone tell me!)
Posted by: Doug | September 14, 2007 6:43 AM
Deborah, it's not *IT* it's them. Use your imagination ;-)
Gulp... I don't think I want to.
Posted by: Deborah | September 14, 2007 7:19 AM
Yet another reason to stretch foreplay out as long as possible!
Posted by: The Mad Patriot | September 14, 2007 8:40 AM
As an upstanding Christian, I am appalled at such promiscuous fornication.
Posted by: Caucasian Jesus | September 14, 2007 9:33 AM
I knew that female cephalopods were semelparous, because they stop feeding around the time of breeding, and (my understanding is) they just starve to death as their offspring mature to the point they can survive. Pelagic squids might do it a little differently.
Anyway, for benthic octopuses at least, I thought it was unknown how long males live, and whether they can mate multiple times over a period of, say, years.
Posted by: TheBrummell | September 14, 2007 10:53 AM
Caucasian Jesus, are you kidding? This isn't promiscuous at all, it's for reproduction only, and hey, it has to be because it's the only chance they get!
If only we could convince teenagers that it was true for them as well, then we wouldn't have to rely on scaring them with AIDS and denying them access to condoms and HPV vaccines!
Posted by: Robert Thille | September 14, 2007 12:37 PM
This seems like the best thread to go off topic in (well, more than usual).
You can't prove that! It's only a theory.
Posted by: Sili | September 14, 2007 6:25 PM
Fry: So you have to choose between life without sex and a hideous, gruesome death?
Dr. Zoidberg: Yes.
Fry: Man, tough call.
Posted by: Nes | September 14, 2007 7:35 PM