The hyper Japanese narration somehow made me think of The Calamari Wrestler.
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)
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
McDonald's has announced plans to open a restaurant at Lourdes, the French grotto that Catholics believe is a site of miraculous healing. The fast- food restaurant will open in November or December. The grotto of Lourdes, visited by 5.5 million people a year, is said to be where St. Bernardette had a vision of the Virgin Mary in the middle of the 19th century.
[Leah Garchik, San Francisco Chronicle, 28 March 1991]
Recent Posts
- Our illness is their profit
- Friday Cephalopod: NUMBERLESS HOSTS!
- Dear Jezebel
- There Will Be Blood?
- Zooming in on the Origin of Life Science Foundation
- Friday Cephalopod: Feasibility trial successful
- Making excuses
- More bad science in the literature
- An open letter to the Indiana legislature
- One Carnival of Evolution, coming right up
A Taste of Pharyngula
Recent Comments
- echidna on Our illness is their profit
- margaret on Our illness is their profit
- hibob on Our illness is their profit
- phoenixwoman on Our illness is their profit
- vaeisenberg on Our illness is their profit
- Amphiox, OM on Our illness is their profit
- David on Our illness is their profit
- James_Evans on Our illness is their profit
- James_Evans on Our illness is their profit
- margaret on Our illness is their profit
Archives
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- 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
« Friday Cephalopod: Placid and serene | Main | Where do Satan et al. publish, anyway? »
More articles by PZ Myers can be found on Freethoughtblogs at the new Pharyngula!
Cuttlefish hunting
Category: Cephalopods • Organisms • Weirdness
Posted on: March 13, 2009 9:13 AM, by PZ Myers
Find more posts in: 
Life Science
Life ScienceTrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/101868
Leave a comment
HTML commands: <i>italic</i>, <b>bold</b>, <a href="url">link</a>, <blockquote>quote</blockquote>
Comments
Posted by: echoegami | March 13, 2009 9:42 AM
That is the best thing I have seen in the whole of today!
Posted by: Valis
|
March 13, 2009 9:45 AM
I wish I understood Japanese. I just caught the Ninja reference.
Posted by: The Science Pundit
|
March 13, 2009 9:45 AM
I swear I heard the word ninja when the cuttlefish was snatching that spider-like creature.
Posted by: Rob C. | March 13, 2009 9:48 AM
Flamboyant cuttlefish (which I think this one is) are quite poisonous (a neurotoxin from bacteria, similar to the poison of the blue-ringed octopus and the poisonous cones, I believe). I wonder if the owner of the bare hand knew that...
Posted by: Freelance | March 13, 2009 9:56 AM
I always thought the over the top narrators for National Geographic won the excellence award for a crappy job. I was wrong!
The narrator does reference ninjutsu techniques. No idea what they are, probably some bizarre wordplay puns.
Posted by: arekksu | March 13, 2009 9:58 AM
sadly i only understood a wee bit of that. things like: "it's a squid! a southern flower-squid!" and "it's started to swim!".
Posted by: NoAstronomer | March 13, 2009 9:58 AM
When I'm assimilated into the squid-collective will I be able to do that color changing thing? That will be so cool!
Posted by: Christopher Petroni | March 13, 2009 9:59 AM
I've been trying to pick up as much of the narration as I can. In Japanese, cuttlefish are called "nose squid," and this one is a "south nose squid."
As others have pointed out, the narration is comparing cuttlefish to a ninja, and going through the "ninjutsu" it's capable of. The first is its ability to blend into the environment and sneak up on prey.
Posted by: Christopher Petroni | March 13, 2009 10:00 AM
In light of #6, I'm forced to consider that the "hana" in "hana ika" means flower, and not nose. I'll have to look that up.
Posted by: Patches | March 13, 2009 10:01 AM
It actually was a "ninja" reference ("ninjutsu", actually). The little scrolls that pop up on the left describe its "ninja abilities". The first is "shinobiyori no jutsu" ("stealth ability"), and the second is "kusarigama no jutsu". A kusarigama is a sickle on a chain that can be thrown and reeled in.
Posted by: william e emba | March 13, 2009 10:03 AM
Rorschach!
Posted by: Paulino | March 13, 2009 10:15 AM
Teh Mollusca Rulez!!
Posted by: arekksu | March 13, 2009 10:17 AM
o, it could be a "southern nose squid". that certainly would put a different spin on it. can't be sure, as i don't think they show the name in kanji at all in that video.Posted by: Konstantine Palanski | March 13, 2009 10:18 AM
Doing a quick survey if you would be so kind?
If you have a free moment, no more than a minute, please follow the link below and complete the short six question survey:
http://tinyurl.com/bemnpj
Posted by: Konstantine Palanski | March 13, 2009 10:22 AM
Forgot to mention the above survey's results can be later found on http://www.palanski.com
Thanks again.
Posted by: Evolving Squid | March 13, 2009 10:25 AM
"ika" means "squid" and that's the only word I understood :)
Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM | March 13, 2009 10:29 AM
*whew*
The post title made me nervous.
Posted by: KI | March 13, 2009 10:31 AM
At about 1:10 it looks as if the shrimp gives a little bow, is everything in Japan polite?
Posted by: Ben Breuer | March 13, 2009 10:32 AM
Did the cuttlefish imitate anglerfishes when it was "walking" around?
Posted by: Xiangyun | March 13, 2009 10:41 AM
I heard it as Southern Flower Squid - Minami Hana Ika. All the japanese pages I scanned have the name in Katakana, so no help there. Metesepia Pfefferi?
Pretty though.
Posted by: Sclerophanax | March 13, 2009 10:42 AM
Cephalopods sometimes make me wonder if there would be a lot of sense of wonder left if we ever found macroscopic aliens on another planet. Sure, they'd be unique, but how much more weirdness can you shovel on a creature until it becomes unfeasible? (Probably a lot more, I admit, I just feel like engaging in a bit of hyperbole.)
Posted by: BigZ | March 13, 2009 10:43 AM
I didn't know they had a tongue like that.
Posted by: Ben Breuer | March 13, 2009 10:44 AM
#19:
"mimic" would be a better verb.
Posted by: clinteas | March 13, 2009 10:46 AM
Time to retire,I leave the awake folks with one of the best Blues songs ever...
The Stones,live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=724c8pQ9bRo
Nitenite....
Posted by: Cyberdraco | March 13, 2009 10:53 AM
That's hilarious! Using narration and text as if it was an anime...sounded like the same click they use in Naruto.
Posted by: rrt | March 13, 2009 10:56 AM
Anyone have a direct link to this on YouTube? My iPhone isn't taking me to the actual site, it's just playing it.
Posted by: Brownian
|
March 13, 2009 11:03 AM
Oh, that's such a load of bullshit. That rumour's been circulating in conservative cuttlefish circles ever since it was started by those wanks at Focus on the Egg Clutch and there's never been a shred of evidence to support it.
Posted by: clinteas | March 13, 2009 11:10 AM
Ok,Ok,I know you want it....
There it is then,the Stones doing "As tears go by",first time since 1965...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=647FXmtHA_U&feature=related
Posted by: Glen Davidson | March 13, 2009 11:17 AM
So, the human is the gigantic monster in this Japanese flick?
Or, are the cuttlefish just a lot smaller than I first thought?
What the hey, if I've learned anything from our wise IDist friends, it's to go for the unlikely and for what one wishes/fears. It's got to be the first one.
Glen D
http://tinyurl.com/6mb592
Posted by: NewEnglandBob
|
March 13, 2009 11:29 AM
Wow, the Stones...that brings back very old memories.
They are probably the most ugly Caucasians on earth.
Posted by: Paper Hand | March 13, 2009 11:29 AM
Brownian @ #27:
Brilliant response! :D "Focus on the Egg Clutch". :D
Posted by: Newfie
|
March 13, 2009 11:38 AM
I HAZ A SCRIMP
I love the colours and hypnotic pigmentation movement.
Squid have two feeding tentacles that shoot out to grab prey, if you watch carefully, you can see the two tentacles when it grabs the shrimp. I don't know if there is anything like a tongue inside the beak though.
Posted by: Andyo
|
March 13, 2009 11:46 AM
Mantis shrimp revenge! Rooting for the arthropods here.
Posted by: rrt | March 13, 2009 11:58 AM
Of course there's a tongue inside the beak! :)
One of the defining characteristics of the non-bivalve molluscs (though iirc they have some remnant...?) is the radula, a tonguelike rasping tool covered with lots of tiny teeth...much like a cat's tongue on steroids. Go to an aquatic pet store sometime and watch snails feeding on algae on the glass. From your "underneath" perspective you'll get a great view of the radula in action. Should even be able to see the teeth. Cephalopoda and other molliscan carnivores use the same thing to rasp off flesh.
Posted by: Newfie
|
March 13, 2009 12:03 PM
See? Collectively, there is nothing we can't answer. :P
Posted by: rrt | March 13, 2009 12:10 PM
Hehe, yup. And neat evolutionary convergence. Beak of parrot, tongue of cat...
Posted by: clinteas | March 13, 2009 12:30 PM
Yeah,yeah,ok.....
One for you godless heathens then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrVVLIRScyU
Posted by: Mike Wedel | March 13, 2009 12:43 PM
Its funny how easy it is to get emotionally attached to these little guys so fast. When I saw the mantis shrimp I got a total adrenaline rush and wanted to yell out "Run!". If cuttlefish are ninja then mantis shrimp are samurai.
I wonder if they slowed down the shrimp attack though. In my experience (granted with Sepia Officianalis) its really hard to see the attack it happens so fast.
Oh, and "Focus on the Egg Clutch"? Hilarious.
Posted by: Dirk Hardpec | March 13, 2009 1:22 PM
According to the narration, "even in slow motion it's very fast"...This is from DARWIN IS HERE, a Sunday evening 30-minute nature program (on NHK, IIRC) aimed more at kids. They recently had an excellent installment on an Australian bowerbird.
Posted by: Epinephrine | March 13, 2009 1:26 PM
Like a few others, when I saw the mantis I was riveted - we had a mantis in our tank for a while, they're fascinating/amazing critters.
Posted by: Sengkelat | March 13, 2009 2:07 PM
This video has everything! Cephalopods! Stomatopods! Transparent arthropods!
I do feel a little bad for the shrimp that got eaten. Nature videos are a little difficult when you like everything non-mammalian.
Posted by: Hortan | March 13, 2009 2:41 PM
Aww, they're so cute when they hunt for prey. :D
Posted by: Mobius | March 13, 2009 4:25 PM
Ah. They iz so cutez when they huntz like that.
Posted by: Gallstones
|
March 13, 2009 5:56 PM
Brownian is the funniest person on the google tubes. I tune in just to read what you write. At least in part.
How much nutrition would be in one of those shrimp? They don't look very.......substantial.
Posted by: akari_house | March 13, 2009 6:17 PM
I think the mantis shrimp out-weirds me when reading about it in detail:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis_shrimp
No molluskian ninjutsu can compete with his supersonic punches and highly specialized multi-spectrum eyes!
Posted by: Vestrati | March 13, 2009 7:01 PM
Haha, man, this makes me miss living in Japan so bad. When I had nothing to do I'd spend hours watching this weird stuff.
Posted by: Inti | March 13, 2009 8:22 PM
They should have used a squid like that for Rorschach's mask.
Posted by: JD
|
March 13, 2009 10:20 PM
OMFSM!
I saw this on TV with my host family last year. They were doing a whole episode on "ninjas of nature," but this was by far the most exciting part. I remember jumping up and down cheering the flower squid on while my host brothers looked at me like I was insane.
Posted by: AVSN | March 13, 2009 10:39 PM
We need a translator. Somebody kind enuf?
Posted by: Mr. Sparkle | March 14, 2009 3:30 AM
I'm disrespectful to dirt!! Can you see that I am serious?
Get out of my way, all of you. This is no place for loafers. Join me or die. Can you do any less?
Posted by: sconnor | March 14, 2009 3:53 AM
"I dunno what the hell's in there, but it's weird and pissed off, whatever it is." -- John Carpenter's The Thing
--S.
Posted by: Brownian
|
March 14, 2009 5:40 AM
Mr. Sparkle, your commercial was my answering machine message for six months in 1999. Collection agencies calling for previous tenants were wonderfully perplexed.
Gallstones, you're making me blush. Thanks.
Posted by: Dirk Hardpec | March 14, 2009 7:42 AM
AVSN, #49 - I'll do what I can and post it here, but others will probably do it quicker and better. My Japanese ain't good enough to get all of it.
At the beginning she says: "A surprising transformation. Is it a sea anemone? A hermit crab? Its true identity is...a squid. This is a hanaika ('hana' is either flower or nose [they don't use Chinese characters here, so I can't say for sure which it is] and 'ika' is squid). This one is called the Southern hanaika.' She then talks about the short radiating appendages being the arms, and says it is 7 centimeters long. 'Let's see if he'll show us his ninjutsu skills...' and then describes the two mentioned by Patches in #10 above. Later she expresses wonder that the squid can also swim (not just walk across the sea floor), and finally describes the squid's camouflage ability that enables it to escape the wrath of its natural enemy (tenteki), the mantis shrimp.
Posted by: raivo pommer | March 14, 2009 7:14 PM
Raivo Pommer
raimo1@hot.ee
Viefiel bezahlt EURO im Jahre 2010
Für 2008 hat Klein laut Geschäftsbericht an Vergütung insgesamt 3,3 Millionen Euro erhalten, davon waren 2,4 Millionen Euro Sonderbonus. Diese Sonderzahlung erfolgte im Zuge des Einstiegs der Deutschen Bank und wurde gezahlt, obwohl die Postbank erstmals seit vielen Jahren einen Verlust machte. Das Minus für 2008 lag unterm Strich bei 821 Millionen Euro.
Insgesamt erhielt der gesamte Postbank-Vorstand einen Sonderbonus von 11,5 Millionen Euro wegen des Einstiegs der Deutschen Bank. Appel rechtfertigte die Zahlungen als notwendige Halteprämie, da sonst Gefahr bestanden hätte, dass Vorstände angesichts der Gespräche der Mutter Post für einen Verkauf das Geldinstitut verlassen hätten können. Ein normaler Jahresbonus wurde nicht gezahlt.
Das Gehaltsgefüge der Postbank sei «sehr moderat», sagte Klein dem «Spiegel». Die Bank sei «kein Täter, sondern eher ein Opfer der Finanzkrise». Er verteidigte auch den Sonderbonus. Es sei um einen «ungewöhnlichsten Unternehmensverkaufsprozesse der jüngeren Geschichte gegangen». Unter den Managern der Postbank habe «große Verunsicherung» geherrscht.
Posted by: Michael | March 14, 2009 8:07 PM
In Korea, too, all nature programs are accompanied by dialogue made up for the creatures in order to make the show more entertaining, even though it's supposed to be a serious nature program! What has become of us?
Posted by: Laurie | March 15, 2009 2:09 PM
I always thought Cthulhu would be bigger.
Posted by: Toth | March 16, 2009 8:20 AM
That is just so fucking cool. I especially love the marquee moving back across its body.