Megaleledone setebos
(from Strugnell, JM, Rogers AD, Prodo PA, Collins MA, Allcock AL (2008) The thermohaline expressway: the Southern Ocean as a centre of origin for deep-sea octopuses. Cladistics 24:1-8)
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Search
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)
• Quick link to the latest endless thread
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
Temples and churches, pagodas and mosques, in all lands and in all ages, in splendour and vastness, testify to the metaphysical need of man, which, strong and ineradicable, follows close upon his physical need. Certainly whoever is satirically inclined might add that this metaphysical need is a modest fellow who is content with poor fare. It sometimes allows itself to be satisfied with clumsy fables and insipid tales. If only imprinted early enough, they are for a man adequate explanations of his existence and supports of his morality. Consider, for example, the Koran. This wretched book was sufficient to found a religion of the world, to satisfy the metaphysical need of innumerable millions of men for twelve hundred years, to become the foundation of their morality, and of no small contempt for death, and also to inspire them to bloody wars and most extended conquests. We find in it the saddest and the poorest form of Theism. Much may be lost through translation; but I have not been able to discover one single valuable thought in it. Such things show that metaphysical capacity does not go hand in hand with the metaphysical need. Yet it will appear that in the early ages of the present surface of the earth this was not the case, and that those who stood considerably nearer than we do to the beginning of the human race and the source of organic nature, had also both greater energy of the intuitive faculty of knowledge, and a truer disposition of mind, so that they were capable of a purer, more direct comprehension of the inner being of nature, and were thus in a position to satify the metaphysical need in a more worthy manner. Thus originated in the primitive ancestors of the Brahmans, the Rishis, the almost superhuman conceptions which were afterwards set down in the Upanishads of the Vedas.
[Schopenhauer, "World as Will and Idea"]
Recent Posts
- Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
- Things to do when you're godless
- Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
- How can we not?
- List of science blogs, with an asterisk
- I'm having bad acid flashbacks, man
- That sneaky, nasty blasphemy law
- Rise up, Texans!
- Nice euphemism
- Dutch poll needs a little help
A Taste of Pharyngula
Recent Comments
- Barb on Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
- 'Tis Himself, OM on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- Brian English on Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
- Benjamin Geiger on Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
- Knockgoats on I'm having bad acid flashbacks, man
- Antiochus Epiphanes on Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
- Walton on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- Nerd of Redhead, OM on Evolution: How We and All Living Things Came to Be
- Walton on Nothing will stop the never-ending thread! Nothing!
- Levi in NY on Botanical Wednesday: Love is in the air
Archives
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- 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
Other Information
« By popular request…an open thread for the foodies | Main | Interpretive dance, really? »
Friday Cephalopod: Antarctic cutie
Category: Cephalopods • Organisms
Posted on: November 28, 2008 10:00 AM, by PZ Myers
Megaleledone setebos
Find more posts in: 
Life Science
Share this: Facebook Twitter Stumbleupon Reddit Email + More
TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/86664
Comments
Posted by: LotharLoo | November 28, 2008 10:09 AM
Wow! Amazing! How big are these species by the way, does anyone know?
Posted by: Erdrick | November 28, 2008 10:28 AM
No, I don't think anyone does know. All we can do right now is speculate, and your guess is as good as mine. 15 meters long? 20?
Posted by: Moggie | November 28, 2008 10:37 AM
Aww! Oo's a cute widdle Cthulhu den! Yes you are!
Posted by: Mikael Hiort af Ornäs | November 28, 2008 10:38 AM
All the Friday Cephalopods on Pharyngula remind me of my first courses in biology at the Göteborg University (Gothenburg, Sweden). Since Gothenburg is situated by the North Sea and an important fishery hub, all dissections we did were on sea creatures. It took me an additional week after the Biology A course ended, until my hands stopped smelling of all the fish I had gutted. I guess it was about then that I realized I preferred botany :)
Cute Cephalopod though.
Posted by: ThinkingApe | November 28, 2008 10:41 AM
I never would have found an octopus so adorable before I discovered this site.
Erdrick: Are you serious when you guess at 15 or 20 metres long? That's amazing.
Does anyone know if there are freshwater cephalopods?
Posted by: Sili | November 28, 2008 10:46 AM
Why do you insist on making me wish that there be such a thing as reïncarnation?
(Do cephalopods even have carne?
Posted by: the Petey | November 28, 2008 10:46 AM
now i wants a tentacly hug
Posted by: Chris Davis | November 28, 2008 10:52 AM
Good grief - it's actually posing!
Posted by: Anon | November 28, 2008 10:56 AM
http://www.newscientist.com/gallery/censusofmarinelife2008/7
Posted by: Olaf | November 28, 2008 10:58 AM
"Erdrick: Are you serious when you guess at 15 or 20 metres long? That's amazing."
Er, I'm pretty sure he's not.
Posted by: Nekohime | November 28, 2008 10:58 AM
OMG SO CUTE. I want one!!!
Posted by: ThinkingApe | November 28, 2008 10:59 AM
"This one is a juvenile; adults can be nearly 1 metre long."
Well then.....I guess that's still pretty cool.......
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 11:01 AM
Me lacking the finer arts of biologism, it is just a Squid, right?
Posted by: Newfie | November 28, 2008 11:02 AM
http://www.ectomo.com/index.php/category/science/
Eight years into it, fascinating new discoveries have been made, one of which focuses on this little fellow, Megaleledone setebos, which lives in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and can grow up to one meter in length.
Posted by: llewelly | November 28, 2008 11:17 AM
Many other strange beasts also lurk in the Southern Ocean. As Lovecraft has often written.Posted by: Nangleator | November 28, 2008 11:24 AM
Huh. Our presence is really being felt even in the ocean depths. This creature has clearly been selected for a Disney-degree of cuteness.
I see a bleak future for us. Bleak and cute and horrific and adorable.
What have we wrought?
Posted by: Uncephalized | November 28, 2008 11:31 AM
fawkes @ #13: I believe it is a juvenile octopus, not a squid. Squid are more streamlined, and have a fifth pair of limbs and a pair of "wings" (technical term, anyone? it's eluding me right now) on their mantles.
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 11:42 AM
So is 'octopus' the family name, or is squids & octopuses part of a family to which name I am ignorant?
Posted by: Wendy | November 28, 2008 11:47 AM
Awwww, that IS cute!
Posted by: Queequeg | November 28, 2008 11:47 AM
I believe it's an octopus, Guy Fawkes.
Posted by: Queequeg | November 28, 2008 11:51 AM
Oops. I see I'm not the first to answer that. I think octopodes and squid are cephalopods.
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 11:55 AM
cepa.... cepepgal... cephalopods... why are the names so hard, why cant they speak english like we do in america.....
(that was a joke makin fun of americans that 1. only know one languge. 2. think that 'america' is a country. No insult intended).
Posted by: ggab | November 28, 2008 11:58 AM
I'm sorry, that is way too cute to be our Overlord.
Does it at least have a thirst for human blood?
Posted by: Queequeg | November 28, 2008 12:04 PM
Hahaha. Cephalopod refers to the animal having its feet attached to its head. Cephalo(head)-Poda(feet). It's Greek, so my translation may not be perfect. Of course, this is what cephalopods look like to you and me, but whether it is correct from an anatomical viewpoint, you'll have to ask someone who actually knows anything about cephalopods.
Posted by: ggab | November 28, 2008 12:18 PM
Guy
Don't be a hater.(American slang that you probably wouldn't get)
Sure, it's easy to pick on Americans. We're too fat to get up and defend ourselves.
I'd attack you with my words, but I have the unfortunate luck of having been educated here as well.
Damn our public schools!!
What's on TV?
Posted by: Steve_C | November 28, 2008 12:26 PM
I want it! My son would say it looks like a Pokemon.
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 12:32 PM
Screw it, we give it a real name. Lets say, oh I dont know. BOB? Easy to pronounce, not hard to spell... Yeah, Bob it is.
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 12:35 PM
ggab, you would attack me by words but your educated didn't supply you with enough? :)
How does 'hater' work as a slang then? I heard the expression but it was related to its meaning, so is there another use you need to be a street hoodie to know?
Posted by: Gregory Earl | November 28, 2008 12:36 PM
Guy Fawkes,
Ignorant not only with respect to the family name, I guess. Your basic reading skills also seem to need improvement (hint: These postings are titled "Friday Cephalopod").
You're Swedish, right? Well, bläckfiskar doesn't exactly roll off the tongue for us Americans, yet I don't see anyone making fun of you.
Could have fooled me.
What makes you think Americans only know one language? And America, as all native speakers of English and a good many other languages agree, is an informal, but perfectly acceptable way of referring to the United States of America.
As gabb says, don't be a hater.
Posted by: Ron Sullivan | November 28, 2008 12:36 PM
Curleeeeeee!
Posted by: Queequeg | November 28, 2008 12:37 PM
I like Bob! Although I think that particular octopus is too cute for Bob. I think it should be Winnie. Like Winnie the Pooh, only the marine version.
Posted by: guy fawkes | November 28, 2008 12:40 PM
Gregory Earl, no America is the name of the continent(s) that the Country of United States is in.
Is it generally only ignorant people that say 'America' refering to United States. All educated americans I met usually make fun of their countrymen sayin 'America' wondering which part of it, Argentina or Canada they mean....
You have North and South America, These are two contintents. In North America you got Canada (Second biggest country in the world), United States and Mexico.
Maybe you should travel a wee bit, and possible open an Atlas once or twice, could be helpful.
Posted by: Nerd of Redhead | November 28, 2008 12:40 PM
How about Swimmie the Pooh? Definitely high on the cute scale.
Posted by: Queequeg | November 28, 2008 12:46 PM
Swimmie! That's awesome! "I shall name you Swimmie, and you shall be my Swimmie" "Ouch! Bad Swimmie!" (See? It even works in Dory land).
Just a Swimmie, Just a Swimmie, Swimmie, Swimmie, Swimmie, Swimmie...
I must go to bed now. I'm not thinking straight.
Posted by: ggab | November 28, 2008 12:54 PM
Guy
I thought your post was funny.
Then again, i don't recall any joke that ever really offended me.
I was even awarded best joke at my grandfather's funeral.
It's how my family deals with stress.
Keep'em coming.
Posted by: Candy | November 28, 2008 1:17 PM
It's curly!
Posted by: Gregory Earl | November 28, 2008 1:22 PM
That is at least debatable. In most geographical traditions, there is no continent called "America" -- there are two continents (North America and South America) that are sometimes collectively referred to as "The Americas". So there is no potential for confusion.
Says the man who can't be bothered to find out what "cephalopod" in the title of this post might refer to...
As an American living in Europe, I can only imagine that they are trying to signal humility so as not to be victims of the anti-Americanism that even educated Europeans consider perfectly acceptable.
See, so you do know that there is no continent called "America". But that's beside the point anyway. As I said, everyone knows that "America" is an informal way of referring to the United States of America, which makes sense, given that they are called the "United States of America.
Maybe you should stop making unwarranted assumptions.
Posted by: Blind Squirrel FCD | November 28, 2008 2:13 PM
Is this a shot of a living creature or has it been swimming in a preservative? It looks contracted to me.
Gregory Earl: Lighten up.
Posted by: Jadehawk | November 28, 2008 3:56 PM
Posted by: Jadehawk | November 28, 2008 3:59 PM
i seem to be unable to post without blockquote failures lately, and this one was severely mangled, so one more time (this time with preview):
Winnie the Glurg? Winnie the Gurgle? Winnie the Blub? What is the word for the sound of blowing bubbles underwater...?As for the "America" debate: there's no clear way to answer that one. the country is usually referred to as "the U.S.", in rarer cases as "America". the inhabitants are "Americans" but most South Americans consider themselves "Americans", too. And calling the country "the United States" is also only meaningful by consensus, since Mexico is actually "The United States of Mexico"
It's too confusing and ambiguous to start a stupid argument over.
Posted by: Tulse | November 28, 2008 4:08 PM
That one is a real cutie -- this one, not so much:
Alien-like Squid With "Elbows" Filmed at Drilling Site
This short video is truly spectacular -- and creepy.
Posted by: Rick R | November 28, 2008 7:27 PM
I never thought I'd be saying this, but that octopus really is cute.
Adorable, actually.
Posted by: Crudely Wrott | November 28, 2008 7:50 PM
Well boop boo and boobity boo! It's a Betty Boop o pod! Never thought I'd ever get to see one.
Thanks, PZ!
Posted by: Notagod | November 28, 2008 10:08 PM
What a wonderful animal, much wiser than the christian god-idea.
People that live in the United States are also Americans but only as they are a subset of all other Americans in Canada, Mexico and, South America. As are people that live in the countries in Europe, Europeans.
Speaking of Americans as only those living within US is bushed.
Suck it jesus christ!
Posted by: Amerist | December 1, 2008 2:54 AM
I think I'm in the same boat with Nekohime and others. Adorable and I wish that I had one. However, I think that I'll settle for a rubbery facsimile as I would probably not be able to care for it.
Posted by: darkseraphina | December 6, 2008 6:11 AM
all together now:
aaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!
Posted by: hery
|
January 25, 2010 1:25 PM
It took me an additional week after the Biology A course ended, until my hands stopped smelling of all the fish I had gutted