Friday Cephalopod: Origin of the Octosquid?

i-d23cf31bdd4d0801690471af0d985acf-mastigoteuthis.jpg
Mastigoteuthis sp.

Since I recently pointed out the strange news reports of an "octosquid" that even went so far as to call it half squid/half octopus, I thought I'd show why the preliminary assignment to the genus Mastigoteuthis was suggestive. It probably did have 8 arms and 2 tentacles … before it got sucked up in a pipe and flung to the surface. Those two feeding tentacles are delicate.


Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.

More like this

Octopus sp. Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Octopus sp. Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Octopus sp. Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
Octopus sp. kagoshimensis Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.

If you had said they'd just discovered this on Titan, I'd have believed you...

By astromcnaught (not verified) on 13 Jul 2007 #permalink

Thanks, Ashaman.

"PIE DOESN'T HAVE TENTACLES!"

What a hoot...

Oh, cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute!!! :-)

By Melissa G (not verified) on 13 Jul 2007 #permalink

Ashaman, I second Chuck C - what a hoot!!

Careful folks - don't be sippin' your morning coffee if you pop over to read Ashaman's link. Pretty damn funny.

By ctenotrish, FCD (not verified) on 13 Jul 2007 #permalink

Interesting, I thought the original picture of the octosquid looked like two of the tentacles were thicker than the others but I couldn't be sure it wasn't just due to the angle they were being held. Now the example above definitely has two tentacles thicker than the others.

By Peter Ashby (not verified) on 13 Jul 2007 #permalink