Vitrelodonella richardi, the glass octopus
Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
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Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
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Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
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Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
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Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Soon, the octopodian cloaking device will be complete, and the invasion will begin.
I think the genus name is mispelled. I went to google up more information on this beauty, and it came back suggesting "VitrelEdonella."
This is beautiful--someone should make a glass octopus-inspired batik fabric. Then we could have glass octopus throw pillows on our couch! (Better than those damn fake leopard-print things that never cease to creep me out... I thought one was real margay fur when I was about four and still haven't gotten over the horror.)
nice!
pelagic/planktonic, one might predict?
yep, info and more pix:
http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Vitreledonella%20richardi
Given that cephalopods actually use their eyes, I wonder how this particular critter deals with the 'background noise' of having translucent eye-sockets. All the potential light coming in away from the lens must cause some sort of problem, no?
Opaque eyeballs to shade the retina probably. I believe eyeballs are generally opaque.
I figure that their eyeballs appear translucent only because a very strong light is being shone upon them. After all, they live in a very dim environment where "candlelight" is considered to be painfully bright.
I don't see the problem. The eyes are those large oval opaque things. Eyes aren't going to be transparent -- they have to absorb photons, or they won't work.
There was another friday cephalapod I ran across today:
http://www.asofterworld.com/soft_may19_2006.htm