pharyngula https://scienceblogs.com/ en Friday Cephalopod: I succumb to peer pressure and will mention Octopolis https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/09/22/friday-cephalopod-i-succumb-to-peer-pressure-and-will-mention-octopolis <span>Friday Cephalopod: I succumb to peer pressure and will mention Octopolis</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">Wow. Every person on the planet saw one version or another of this <a href="https://qz.com/1077632/octlantis-is-a-just-discovered-underwater-city-engineered-by-octopuses/">"Octopolis"</a> story and had to send it to me. It was the subject of a <a href="https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2016/10/21/friday-cephalopod-i-hope-this-is-the-low-rent-district/">Friday Cephalopod a year ago</a>, you know.</p> <p>Apparently, this is the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/SuKqGmXPA8zJdrkjkSRE/full"><em>second</em> octopus city discovered</a>, which is interesting -- they're exhibiting more complex social behaviors.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/octopusevictedfromden-500x664.jpeg" alt="" width="500" height="664" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17710" /></p> <p>However, I have two complaints.</p> <ol> <li> <p>A lot of the stories are describing Octopolis/Octlantis as "gloomy". Why? Is it because the inhabitants aren't swimming around with toothy grins? The cephalopods look quite normal to me.</p> </li> <li> <p>A more serious complaint, about this quote:</p> <blockquote><p>The discovery was a surprise, Scheel told Quartz. “These behaviors are the product of natural selection, and may be remarkably similar to vertebrate complex social behavior. This suggests that when the right conditions occur, evolution may produce very similar outcomes in diverse groups of organisms.”</p> </blockquote> <p>Nope. You don't know that. There's no evidence and no reason to think this behavior is the product of natural selection -- quite the opposite, actually. It looks to me like the spontaneous emergence of a novel property of octopus behavior in an unusual and fortuitous environment.</p></li> </ol> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 09/22/2017 - 14:10</span> Fri, 22 Sep 2017 18:10:22 +0000 pharyngula 14387 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: we all float down here https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/09/15/friday-cephalopod-we-all-float-down-here <span>Friday Cephalopod: we all float down here</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">Pale, drifting quietly, long grasping arms, cold and anoxic…we all float down here.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/22MagnapinnidaeQ01-500x375.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17706" /></p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/bigfin-500x338.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="338" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17707" /></p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/magnapinna.jpg" alt="" width="461" height="308" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17708" /></p> <p>Yes, I'm going to go see <i>It</i> this evening. It won't be half as creepy as the reality of the dark deep, though.</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 09/15/2017 - 15:12</span> Fri, 15 Sep 2017 19:12:20 +0000 pharyngula 14386 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: Reflecting my current mood https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/09/08/friday-cephalopod-reflecting-my-current-mood <span>Friday Cephalopod: Reflecting my current mood</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><div style="width: 510px;display:block;margin:0 auto;"><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/squidpuke-500x362.jpeg" alt="" width="500" height="362" class="size-large wp-image-17704" /> <a href="http://www.mbari.org/bush-stephanie/">Stephanie Bush</a> </div> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 09/08/2017 - 13:17</span> Fri, 08 Sep 2017 17:17:35 +0000 pharyngula 14385 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: Sinking blue https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/09/01/friday-cephalopod-sinking-blue <span>Friday Cephalopod: Sinking blue</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">I think it's a portrait of my mood right now.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/09/fluorescentsquid-500x281.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="281" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17702" /></p> <div class="center"> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r4lj2bHx-yA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 09/01/2017 - 15:26</span> Fri, 01 Sep 2017 19:26:44 +0000 pharyngula 14384 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: Undead Squid Penis https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/08/25/friday-cephalopod-undead-squid-penis <span>Friday Cephalopod: Undead Squid Penis</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">First, a little background:</p> <blockquote><p>When squid mate, a male transfers its sperm to a female enclosed in complex structures called spermatophores. These are accumulated in the spermatophoric sac, a storage organ inside the mantle cavity, before ejaculation through the penis. Squid that spawn in shelf waters and epipelagic waters of the open ocean usually have short penes hidden completely inside the mantle. Males pick the ejaculated spermatophores from inside their mantle with a specially modified arm called the hectocotylus, to transfer them to the female. Females spawning in shallow water have special places for spermatophore attachment on the body, both externally (skin ring around the mouth, and back of the head) and internally (oviducal gland openings near gills) (Nesis, 1995). As female squid lack a vagina, the use of a highly articulated arm (hectocotylus) for transfer and placement of spermatophores is more precise than by means of the comparatively poorly articulated penis.</p> </blockquote> <p>So male squid have penises deep in their mantle. Many species have short penises, and they also have a specialized arm, the hectocotylus, that they use to reach in to their own mantle to scoop up ejaculate and then place it in the appropriate place in a female.</p> <p>Other species lack the hectocotylus, but instead have a long penis, as some investicators discovered. They are also capable of erections, which was a surprise.</p> <blockquote><p>A mature moribund male of the greater hooked squid <i>Onykia ingens</i> (Smith, 1881) (38.5 cm mantle length, 1180 g body mass) was caught on the Patagonian slope south of the Falkland Islands (July 2006, 53°20′S, 59°31′W, 1050 m depth). When the mantle of the squid was opened for maturity assessment during processing of the catch onboard, the penis of the squid, which previously had extended only slightly beyond the mantle margin, suddenly started to erect. It became rigid and quickly elongated to 67 cm total length, almost the same length as the whole body of the animal (mantle, head and arms; Fig. 1). Immediately after elongation, several spermatophores were ejaculated from the penis tip.</p> </blockquote> <p>So not only do they have penises capable of erection, they can get erections when dead and partially dissected, which means I can now show you a zombie squid dick pic.</p> <div style="width: 435px;display:block;margin:0 auto;"><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/08/onykia_penis.gif" alt="" width="425" height="440" class="size-full wp-image-17700" /> Mature males of deep-water squid <i>Onykia ingens</i> with cut-open mantles showing non-erect (A) and fully erect (B) penes. </div> <p>(blame <a href="http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/">Tommy Leung</a>)</p> <hr /> <p class="ref">Arkhipkin AI, Laptikhovsky VV (2010) Observation of penis elongation in Onykia ingens: implications for spermatophore transfer in deep-water squid, Journal of Molluscan Studies 76(3):299–300.</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 08/25/2017 - 05:03</span> Fri, 25 Aug 2017 09:03:53 +0000 pharyngula 14383 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: Squink https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/08/18/friday-cephalopod-squink-2 <span>Friday Cephalopod: Squink</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/08/squidink-500x300.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="300" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17698" /></p> <p class="lead">If you've ever wondered what squid ink is made of, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/09/why-do-cephalopods-produce-ink-and-what-on-earth-is-it-anyway">here's your answer</a>: </p> <blockquote><p>Generally, cephalopod ink includes melanin, enzymes related to melanin production, catecholamines, peptidoglycans, free amino acids and metals.</p> </blockquote> <p>But mostly melanin. And mucus.</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 08/18/2017 - 14:11</span> Fri, 18 Aug 2017 18:11:29 +0000 pharyngula 14382 at https://scienceblogs.com Mary's Monday Metazoan: Son of Spongebob https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/08/15/marys-monday-metazoan-son-of-spongebob <span>Mary&#039;s Monday Metazoan: Son of Spongebob</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">The sequel is going to go a bit dark: this is a <a href="http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/2017/08/okeanos-explorer-communities-deep-sea.html">deep ocean sponge</a>. It's dark and ominous, and it's also carnivorous, with sticky spines for capturing and killing passing animals.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/08/cladorhizidiae-500x281.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="281" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17696" /></p> <p>I think that thing has been waiting for me in a lot of my nightmares.</p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Mon, 08/14/2017 - 18:26</span> Mon, 14 Aug 2017 22:26:09 +0000 pharyngula 14381 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: that reminds me -- it's lunchtime https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/08/04/friday-cephalopod-that-reminds-me-its-lunchtime <span>Friday Cephalopod: that reminds me -- it&#039;s lunchtime</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">Time to forage.</p> <div class="center"> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ebeNeQFUMa0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 08/04/2017 - 10:58</span> Fri, 04 Aug 2017 14:58:24 +0000 pharyngula 14380 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: Tomorrow is an open house at MBARI, and I have to miss it https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/07/28/friday-cephalopod-tomorrow-is-an-open-house-at-mbari-and-i-have-to-miss-it <span>Friday Cephalopod: Tomorrow is an open house at MBARI, and I have to miss it</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><p class="lead">You Californians have no excuse. Go to the coast and <a href="http://www.mbari.org/about/mbari-open-house/">stop by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a> and see the <i>Vampyroteuthis</i>.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/07/fakevampyroteuthis-500x375.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="375" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17691" /></p> <p>Oh, wait, that's the fake inflatable one. I don't think you'll get to dive down into the deep dark and see a real one. You might not want to.</p> <p><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/07/vampyroteuthis-500x423.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="423" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-17692" /></p> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 07/28/2017 - 11:34</span> Fri, 28 Jul 2017 15:34:03 +0000 pharyngula 14379 at https://scienceblogs.com Friday Cephalopod: It's a whole weekend of developmental biology https://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2017/07/14/friday-cephalopod-its-a-whole-weekend-of-developmental-biology <span>Friday Cephalopod: It&#039;s a whole weekend of developmental biology</span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field--item"><div style="width: 510px;display:block;margin:0 auto;"><img src="http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/files/2017/07/sepiaembryo-500x717.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="717" class="size-large wp-image-17689" /> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/source/thenode.biologists.com/">thenode</a> </div> </div> <span><a title="View user profile." href="/pharyngula" lang="" about="/pharyngula" typeof="schema:Person" property="schema:name" datatype="">pharyngula</a></span> <span>Fri, 07/14/2017 - 05:16</span> Fri, 14 Jul 2017 09:16:59 +0000 pharyngula 14378 at https://scienceblogs.com