Friday Cephalopod: Peek-a-boo

OK- somebody explain it to stoopid here....

Can all cephalopods change color? What about the one above? Is she changing her pattern to mimic the sand grains?

Are you saying that cephalopods are the Creationists' Worst Nightmare?

Consider calamari - it is rubbery, hard to peel and doesn't have a "pop-top." Clear evidence that Natural Selection didn't have humans in mind as our food evolved.

Christian, most cephalopods can change color, in fact I think all of them can but I'm not a expert. However, they don't always change color just to camouflage themselves, they can also do it for communication, defense, or courtship rituals. Depending on the species involved these can be extremely flamboyant, or mildly amusing. Use google video or youtube to do some searches on cuttlefish, they have a lot of good videos demonstrating the effect.

Any color-changing in Nautilus? I suppose the shell would make it difficult to see and therefore pointless...?

Wouldn't putting them in bags and taking them out of the water have the same effect?

I agree with RCP.

I think the important thing is really the bag.

That way they can't see the frightened little faces of the kitties (and cephalopodies) as they await their brutal death.

Can all cephalopods change color? What about the one above? Is she changing her pattern to mimic the sand grains?"

My guess is she probably sees a hand coming at her with a bag.

That cephalopod undoutedly has a recessive trait -- bag avoidance.

But pretty soon the creationists will undoubtedly have to use something else (a box?) since the "bag-attraction" gene (that makes animals curious about bags) will have been eliminated from the gene pool and the bag-avoidance gene selected.

There was a new one announced this week, found near some black smokers that doesn't seem to be pigmented, and may be blind. But I may be mistooken. rb

Hey, PZ, I saw this entry in a recent Worth1000 contest, and immediately thought of you.

He or she looks like they're meditating. Positively Buddha-like!

Coming Monday, April 23, 2007:
Bill O'Reilly interviews Richard Dawkins

PZ... I think you want this.

http://www.uncrate.com/men/style/tees-polos/oddica-octopus-trilogy/

We like to go to Epcot and, "annoy," the cuttlefish. Flash our bright clothing against the tank and make them change colors. "Green! No, FUSCHIA! No, blue!" It's a very light color change, but they do it when they swim by...I guess we're easily amused.

Too bad PZ didn't get to this domain name first...

http://www.squidsquid.com

My SQ is 162.5!

Don't creationists also hate cephalopods because the glaring FACT of their independantly evolved eyes gives lie to creationist stupidity?

Oh, and the whole Cthulu, elder gods, nameless, timeless, eldrich horrors from beyond time.

Any color-changing in Nautilus? I suppose the shell would make it difficult to see and therefore pointless...?