Strange things are found in the sea, like this mysterious gelatinous blob bobbing about in the Norwegian fjords.
On Oct. 1 Rudolf and his brother Erling were diving when he spotted the unusual object.
"It was 50-70 centimeters (19.5-27.5 inches) in diameter and looked like a huge beach ball. It was transparent but had a kind of thick, red cord in the middle. It was a bit science-fiction," Svensen told newspaper Bergens Tidende's web site.
It's something cool: a large squid egg sac. Mmmmm…two-foot diameter ball of squid eggs.
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Both Jerry Coyne and Larry Moran have good write-ups on the recent discovery of what are purportedly the oldest
The Kuiper Belt Controversy continues, with the lastest round showing up in the Times today:
"The Earth reminded us of a Christmas tree ornament hanging in the blackness of space. As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine." -James Irwin
That's right, the absolute best eclipse of our lifetimes is going to occur tomorrow! First off, total Solar Eclipses are rare enough, and spectacular when they happen.
This sounds like a bit of a shame, actually. Most cephalopods are solicitous parents, so an egg sack drifting free would imply that momma was off being crab-bait.
actually, squids are less than dutiful parents. Most simply lay eggs and croak.
octopus and argonauts on the other hand, do tend to stick around for egg care.
not sure about cuttlefish, but I think most are like squid (lay eggs and croak).
"The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long."
a short but extraordinary life is the cephs lot.
Down in the Gulf, we call these things 'globsters' when they are found washed up on the shore. I've been told that its whale vomit or blubber, algea colonies, or even sea monster, um, fluid.
Ichthyic, cuttlefish lay their eggs in eggcases, which they then judiciously attach to coral or rocks, then scoot.
Or die.
I'm not sure which, though I have a book with a photo of a cuttlefish in an aquarium showing mama adjusting her freshly secreted eggcase on a branch of decorative coral.
Its rover!
"Mmmmm...two-foot diameter ball of squid eggs."
Damn! That's gonna take a lot of vinegared rice and dried seaweed.
I love it when metric to english (and vice versa) conversions are taken very literally. When I was working in Sweden, I watched the Simpsons on TV. In the ep where a new girl comes to school and has all the girls but Lisa wearing designer outfits, the new girl tells Lisa she could stand to lose 5 pounds. Or in the translation, 2.5 kilos.
Somehow I doubt Ruploph would have ever said the sac was 19.5-27.5 inches.