Pharyngula

Posted by: Celtic_Evolution | January 5, 2010 10:26 AM

Obviously the Cthulhian calendar ended in 2009.

The fools! They just dismissed it as superstitious folly...

Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM, CR | January 5, 2010 10:26 AM

My first thought was "Jonestown!"

http://digitalcuttlefish.blogspot.com/2010/01/evidence-of-religion-in-octopuses.html

Posted by: PaleGreenPants | January 5, 2010 10:37 AM

They tried to follow the dolphins. Alas, they're not as intelligent.

Posted by: Celtic_Evolution | January 5, 2010 10:40 AM

In seriousness... it's odd that it's just cephalopods being affected and not other types of marine life... are there known cases of mass octopus death like this in the past?

I've seen red tides off the coasts of Maine and NH kill thousands of fish, but it's not that selective.

Posted by: ithonicfury | January 5, 2010 10:54 AM

Obviously they're teen octopus suicides due to a predatory "love em and leave em" policy causing widespread heartbreak...I wonder who could be behind it.

Posted by: Drexer | January 5, 2010 11:02 AM

If I might get you an update straight from the Portuguese news:

http://jn.sapo.pt/paginainicial/pais/concelho.aspx?Distrito=Porto&Concelho=Vila%20Nova%20de%20Gaia&Option=Interior&content_id=1461786

"The Octopus are Already in the cooking pot"

The probable cause of death was determined as being trash and wastes from the Douro river by the local fishermen due to the sand residue left across the beaches, and as such most of them have already grabbed and cooked most of them. Apparently there are local person who have around 30 to 40 kilos in their freezers already.

If I might paraphrase from the article:

"This slight atmospheric dust settled in the bottom of the ocean, where the octopus roam, and entered their heads where they have their vital organs. When we touch them on their heads, they rise the tentacles to get rid of what's bothering them, and they did the same to get rid of the dust. So they let all go and stayed adrift in the sea, ending up dead." - said a 65 year old fishermen, then adding:

"Don't tell me the scientist don't know that.We fishermen of Aguda, in our life have seen that at least three times, and it's always in association with flood sin the Douro."

Sometimes I end up really proud of my country for the strangest news. :P

Posted by: Celtic_Evolution | January 5, 2010 11:06 AM

"This slight atmospheric dust settled in the bottom of the ocean, where the octopus roam, and entered their heads where they have their vital organs. When we touch them on their heads, they rise the tentacles to get rid of what's bothering them, and they did the same to get rid of the dust. So they let all go and stayed adrift in the sea, ending up dead." - said a 65 year old fishermen

Wait... what?

Posted by: Drexer | January 5, 2010 11:10 AM

@14

I translated it the best I could, believe em, the original version didn't make much sense either. From what I can understand, any irritation in the head area makes the octopus stop swimming and using his arms to get rid of it, like scratching an itch. It seems that they just let themselves drift and die while doing such a thing.

Posted by: Tizo | January 5, 2010 11:28 AM

@16

Reading the original, the quote from that fisherman sounds like a bit of local folk wisdom, very much like some of the explanations one hears from fishermen in coastal cities here in Brazil. All the way across the pond, different culture and traditions, but the guesses are always based on some bit of their experience.

One of the comments to that article was great: (quick translation for everyone who doesn´t read portuguese)

"Toxicological analysis?! Give it a good wash and eat it! I´m already making room in my freezer: today it´s octopus, tomorrow it´s cod!" (The article mentioned that a few of the fishers have already eaten some of the octopus and felt no fear)

Hey, when life hands you mostly fresh octopus... you save some for the whole year!

Posted by: mattheath | January 5, 2010 11:39 AM

Naked Bunny@11: Or a plague sent to punish Portugal because gay marriage is going through parliament atm.

Posted by: Naked Bunny with a Whip | January 5, 2010 11:59 AM

@mattheath: That would certainly fit Yahweh's style.

Posted by: UkkotheIrish | January 5, 2010 12:31 PM

They know the stars are *nearly* right.... they're just gettin' the hell outta Dodge before the Shrimp hits the fan.

:D

Posted by: Silič O'Nopolitanopoulos, Färschdbischuf Beesknees aus Ulm und Klein Elguth, Elector Pharynguline. | January 5, 2010 12:42 PM

Unfortunately, no one knows what just yet.

"No one"?

Yeah, right. We certainly don't know anyone with an underwater lair and an unhealthy obsession with these critters. No, sir, no sirree Bob.

Posted by: Joffan | January 5, 2010 12:53 PM

I was going to suggest the wavepower generators as culprits but I see that they were removed last year (and if it's a recurring phenomenon then that would argue against blaming them anyway).

Posted by: Sven DiMilo | January 5, 2010 1:05 PM

Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of ancient Greek knows its "octopodes".

No. "Octopodes" means eight feet. We do not wish to say "Hey, look at the eight feet on the beach," we want to say "Hey, look at the eight-footed animals on the beach." Therefore "octopuses" is correct.

Posted by: JackC | January 5, 2010 1:15 PM

Human foot, human shmoot - it is 3 limbs (digits?? pedits??) short. or is that 6?

JC

Posted by: cicely (Inadvertent Phytocidal Maniac) | January 5, 2010 1:26 PM

Please, won't someone think of the squids!

(Okay, I know it's lame. Chalk it up to giddiness at being able to post. Wheee!)

Posted by: David B | January 5, 2010 1:47 PM

I live by the sea in South West Wales. I have often seen cuttlefish 'bones' washed up along the strand line, but a frw weeks ago for the first time in my 60 years I saw intact cuttlefish corpses. Not many - one in perfect condition, and a couple more that it looked as if the gulls had had a go at them.

But it was the first time ever.

Last summer there was an unprecedented glut of edible crabs washed up dead, too - I saw them while prawning. There was the worst prawn crop in my memory.

WTF going on?

Posted by: Andyo | January 5, 2010 2:01 PM

Call up Debbie "Deborah" Gibson and Lorenzo "Lameass" Lamas. MEGASHARK IS BACK!

Posted by: Crewvy | January 5, 2010 2:03 PM

I don`t suppose someone or two fisherpersons has caught over their quota and just dumped the excess?

Posted by: hackerguitar | January 5, 2010 2:25 PM

I hope it's not pollution, but that's kind of a thin gruel hope.

We dump so much crap in the ocean and then wonder when stuff like this happens.

I really wish humans would get that the oceans are where the majority of active life is on this planet, some of it arguably intelligent in some fashion or another (cetaceans, cephalopods, a few others), and all of it pretty amazing and cool. And I say that having been stung by coral and having had a few other run-ins with some damn scary tropical sea creatures.

Posted by: JohnnieCanuck | January 5, 2010 4:23 PM

In the last few years it has become rather common for the media to announce yet another human foot found on some beach around here (Pacific Northwest).

Best guess, it's the running shoes. The feet have separated from the body during decomposition because of the buoyancy of the shoe.

One might speculate that the cold ocean waters around here do not allow gasses to accumulate enough to float the whole body so that everything could wash ashore in one piece.

Where's a CSI writer when you need one?

Posted by: Steven Mading | January 5, 2010 6:39 PM

Why is everyone saying "octopuses"? Is this American slang? Anyone with even a cursory knowledge of ancient Greek knows its "octopodes". Or if served with olive oil and smoked paprika, its "pulpo a la Gallega".

That sounds like pluralizing the feet ("podes") rather than the entire critter. So instead of "Imagine an 8-foot thing and then imagine many such 8-footed things." it comes out seeming more like "Imagine a thing with 8 things, each one of which has many feet."

That might not be correct interpretation of the greek, but that's how that sort of combination of base terms and suffixes and prefixes ends up seeming in English, which is probably why we tend not to use that word.

Posted by: Cuttlefish, OM, CR | January 5, 2010 10:00 PM

@ #39 & #47--

Merely lulling humankind into a false sense of security, I assure you...

have I said too much?

Posted by: Richard Eis | January 6, 2010 5:38 AM

Also, HUMAN FOOT!!! Am I really the only one that things that's worth mentioning?

Humans are not as interesting as octopodes. Nor clearly as tasty.

Posted by: ChrisD | January 6, 2010 8:37 AM

I doubt humanity will have as lasting an impact on life, as, say, a comet impact. We're just the only creature smart enough to know we shouldn't but stupid enough to do it anyway.

Posted by: God | January 6, 2010 12:26 PM

At least I didn't do it in a crowded lift.

Posted by: Steven Mading | January 7, 2010 7:34 AM

octopi would be wrong because the "us" in octopus isn't Latin. (using "i" for the plural of a n 'us" word is specific to latin.)