Pharyngula: Friday Cephalopod: Out of the shadows it comes

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« Turnabout | Main | The Wall Street Journal editorial pages are a very silly place »

Friday Cephalopod: Out of the shadows it comes

Category: Cephalopods • Organisms
Posted on: November 21, 2008 8:35 AM, by PZ Myers

(Today's entry is reader-submitted, from Scott Milton)

Find more posts in: Life Science

Comments

Posted by: Leslie in Canada | November 21, 2008 8:42 AM

Nice cephalopod! And on the subject of "Out of the Shadows" an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal suggests that the economic crisis in the United States is due to increasing securalization and, get this, "dereligioning" of America. Apparently religious people don't default on their mortgages or something unlike godless Northerners and atheists. Don't beleive me? Check it out:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122714101083742715.html

Happy Friday!

Posted by: Sili | November 21, 2008 8:51 AM

And I shall name him Zadok.

Posted by: djlactin | November 21, 2008 8:57 AM

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!

Posted by: Cliff Hendroval | November 21, 2008 9:07 AM

Very impressive!

Posted by: SEF | November 21, 2008 9:17 AM

Very imperious.

Posted by: Monado in Toronto | November 21, 2008 9:34 AM

Nice. I've read that octopodes always keep their eyes horizontal, I mean a line drawn between the two horizontal: is that true?

Wonkette has a comment on the WSJ article.

No snow since our little spurt Thursday but it's -9 with a wind chill of -19, but that's wimpy Celcius.

Posted by: Nick Gotts | November 21, 2008 9:39 AM

Somewhat resembles the "third-stage Guild navigator" from the film of Dune.

Posted by: Holbach | November 21, 2008 9:49 AM

"You think I look like an orange? Come on over and give me a squeeze!"

Posted by: Jefe | November 21, 2008 10:10 AM

Reminds me of a Woolly Mammoth for some reason.

#10

Posted by: Joe | November 21, 2008 10:30 AM

Am I the only one who looked at this guy, and thought:
Charles Darwin!
Look at that head! The eyes! Spittin' image of the elderly Darwin. Makes you wonder how horny the young Chuck got on The Beagle....

#11

Posted by: Evolving Squid | November 21, 2008 10:37 AM

Ia! Ia! Cthulhu Fhtagn!

Looks like he's got non-Euclidean head. Needs a coffee and some hapless followers for breakfast.

#12

Posted by: Evolving Squid | November 21, 2008 10:40 AM

>>And on the subject of "Out of the Shadows" an
>>editorial in today's Wall Street Journal suggests
>>that the economic crisis in the United States is
>>due to increasing securalization and, get this,
>>"dereligioning" of America. Apparently religious
>>people don't default on their mortgages or something
>>unlike godless Northerners and atheists.

Of course, Canada is suffering so much less than the bulk of the western world because we're such religious, bible-thumping... er wait, no that can't be it.

You gotta wonder how people come up with that stuff.

#13

Posted by: BeckyWS | November 21, 2008 11:35 AM

Jefe,
It does look exactly like a woolly mammoth skull with the two long middle tentacles as the tusks.

#14

Posted by: Julia | November 21, 2008 11:52 AM

He or she looks very regal.

#15

Posted by: Randy | November 21, 2008 12:13 PM

Everyone keeps saying "wooly mammoth" and "grandson of Darwin" and "Cthulhu". Maybe it's my complete lack of biological training, but it looks like a coral sculpture to me.

#16

Posted by: Oops | November 21, 2008 12:36 PM

Moments later....
http://lh3.ggpht.com/_GUg1ZUWwQY8/RaLKm5YhOnI/AAAAAAAAA9A/FKGys1UIQns/DSCF0252.JPG

#17

Posted by: Evolving Squid | November 21, 2008 1:38 PM

http://www.logicalcreativity.com/jon/plush/01.html

Perhaps the photo is the live version of that :)

#18

Posted by: ThirtyFiveUp | November 21, 2008 2:12 PM

Some thanks for Scott Milton.

#19

Posted by: cicely | November 21, 2008 2:13 PM

That is one impressive 'pod. Dignified. Aloof. I can see why a wooly mammoth would want to imitate it.

#20

Posted by: Muffin | November 21, 2008 2:23 PM

Iä! Iä! ;)

#21

Posted by: cicely | November 21, 2008 3:13 PM

Aha!

Not mammoth! Oliphant! With the extra tusks an obvious attempt to resemble more tentacles.

#22

Posted by: Notagod | November 21, 2008 3:34 PM

The local public service TV station showed film of an octopus being pursued by the camera. The octopus would scurry along then settle and instantaneously change its colors to blend perfectly with the backgound of multi-shaded, speckled and craggey rocks.

The humans that invented christ could have picked the octopus for their god-idea, instead they blew it or sucked it.

Suck it jesus christ. :-)

#23

Posted by: Zorpheous | November 21, 2008 4:18 PM

That is one sweet cephalopod. These guys and squidies always fascinated me. Well soon I will be able to go cephalopod hunting again, (Christmas in Cozumel). The only bummer is these guys are more active at night and night dives are always a drag to do, because your gear and wet suit are never dry in time for your morning dives the next day. Oh well, small price to pay to play with guys while on the reefs.

Still that is on great cephalopod. It is shame that lighting is off, too bright on the right side and too dark on the left, very close to being a perfect shot.

Hey PZ, any info on where this was shot?

#24

Posted by: Crudely Wrott | November 21, 2008 8:14 PM

Now there is a critter with a sense of bearing. Real presence.

In other news from Davy Jones' Locker, I spied a license plate today: RRRM8Y.

I didn't get a clear look at the driver but I did catch a glance of his parrot trying to refold a road map.

#25

Posted by: mayhempix | November 21, 2008 9:33 PM

It looks like Vincent Price during his horor film heyday.

#26

Posted by: JohnnieCanuck | November 22, 2008 2:17 AM

Oh! Hi mom, didn't see you there for a moment. I know I'm a little late. Kinda lost track of the time. Sorry.