Friday Cephalopod: Cute li'l guy

I have no idea why, but when I was a kid I had a sort of emotional moment the first time I found a squid...

I was under the age of ten, maybe around 7 or 8, and we had gone to visit my cousins who had a house on Cape Cod. We went to this beach where the tide would allow you to walk in water up to about your knees for what felt like miles out to sea. People would be so far out that you could barely see them from shore, and they still were not over their heads in the surf that would come in with steady polite waves. The sand, the surf...the sound of the gulls all covered by a blue blue sky.

I remember reaching down and picking up something in the water. It was a piece of flesh that was at once clear, and at the same time speckled with a reddish-blue pattern. I suddenly realized that I was looking at a squid, and in my mind I was transported back to the paleozoic thinking of belemnites and ammonites and many other creatures of old. I started to think of that picture of the swimming Plesiosaurs by Charles Knight fighting over a fish, and I no longer felt like I was living in a modern world where all the creatures of my fantasies were gone.

"til this day I remember the emotions I felt that day very strongly. When people are told to think of their "happy place," that is where I always go...

'Tis cute,but he looks grumpy...:-)

Maybe I'm the only one, but often when I see these images I imagine a beautiful line of fabrics based on cephalopods... You listening, Michael Kors?

Sweeeeeeeeet!!!

Lago @1:

That story made me smile. And somewhat envious.

The sea's my happy place, too. I haven't been fortunate enough to meet any cephs yet, though. My favourite marine-critter memory is the dolphins I saw playing near the beach at sunset on Sanibel Island - if I wasn't so loopyired, I'd get nostalgic right with you...

Lago, Shadow, et al, my husband and I just met a bunch of Caribbean reef squid during a recent dive in Bonaire -- hanging out with them in 15 ft. of water, staring at them as they stared at us, was one of the most awesome 30 minutes of my life, and I remember thinking, "I have a new happy place!" So I can definitely relate! Thanks for sharing!

PZ, my husband sent me a link to this post saying that yours is one of his favorite blogs -- cheers!

-Rebecca

P.S. I work for Americans United for Separation of Church and State -- thanks for your support!!

Just doin' it for the lol(iolu)z, huh?

Aw, he is a cutey, but I agree with clinteas #2 he does look kinda grumpy.

BTW, a couple of evenings ago I got to watch the NOVA episode on cuttlefish. Wow, they are really cool critters! If anything on this planet could be called "shape-shifters" it's these guys.

Lago@1,

What a wonderful post. Your reference to Charles Knight prompted a Google search and I found a website dedicated to him (http://www.charlesrknight.com/index.htm)run by his granddaughter, Rhoda Knight Kalt. Finding that site brings me to my museum happy place and dinosaurs galore.

Grumpy? Try this! Concentrate only on the eyes, then use your finger to hide first its right eye, then its left.

I see grumpy when viewing the left eye but, inquisitiveness (eagerness for knowledge) when viewing the right eye. The difference is the bright shading at the top of the left eye.

Or maybe it is advanced beyond humans and can hold two states of mind at the same time.

BTW, a couple of evenings ago I got to watch the NOVA episode on cuttlefish. Wow, they are really cool critters! If anything on this planet could be called "shape-shifters" it's these guys.

PaulM - Wasn't it great? I posted about it while it was on, but I don't know how many people saw it. One of the best NOVAs ever. They usually run things a few more times, so people should check to see if it's on their PBS station over the weekend.

I think the beach I mentioned can be found somewhere in here, but I was too young to remember the name of it. Marconi Beach looked somewhat close...

http://www.boston.com/travel/explorene/massachusetts/regions/capecod/ga…

The squid in the region that I likely found was Loligo pealei:

http://www.mbl.edu/publications/pub_archive/Loligo/squid/index.html

I remember watching squid, while snorkling in Bermuda. Could someone tell me please? Is it true that when they ink, squid actually project an inky virtual image of themselves?

Squid comic: http://www.explosm.net/comics/524/

How does this little bugger taste?

@#1:

An evocative and compelling account, Lago. For a moment I felt the currents of time reverse when you mentioned the Charles Knight painting. I remember turning the page to that image for the first time. Wicked nostalgic. Thank you.

It's a distinct pleasure to recall those moments in the past when something caused my thinking to suddenly shift and then the flood of insight and the sheer delight and confusion of it all. Strangely, such moments are not all constrained to childhood.

I'd be a little grumpy too if half the world wanted me with a side of tartare sauce.

"An evocative and compelling account, Lago. For a moment I felt the currents of time reverse when you mentioned the Charles Knight painting. I remember turning the page to that image for the first time. Wicked nostalgic. Thank you."

Thank you, and I am glad that I am not alone in my enjoyment of Charles Knights works. These days his works are, of courses, considered out of date, but there is still a great deal of nostalgia there...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-briefs16-2008aug1…

What has 6 arms, 2 legs, and swims?

Octopuses' eight tentacles divide up into six "arms" and two "legs," a study published by a chain of commercial aquariums said Thursday.

Helped by more than 2,000 observations by visitors, teams of aquatic specialists carried out a study showing that the creatures seemed to favor their first three pairs of tentacles for grabbing and using objects, Sea Life aquariums said.

"One can assume that the front six tentacles have the function of arms, and that the back two take over the function of legs," said Sea Life biologist Oliver Walenciak.

Unlike humans and some other animals, most octopuses did not appear to be left- or right-handed.

Jeff,

Loliolicious!

We saw a herd of squid this week, snorkeling in The Keys! Have NO idea what kind they were though. At first, I thought it was just a piece of junk in the water, until I really LOOKED and then saw more than one. They were about an inch or so long. Clear bodies, brown, "face," golden sort of eyes. Funny thing was, when you tried to dive down to them, they'd tilt up at you and their eyes and a stripe along their body would either glow or reflect the sunlight so they got bright. Then they'd tilt back down when you backed off. It was cool! Like they were shooting death rays at you, LOL SO cute! Sort of threatening you with their tentacles too! I'm still trying to google what kind they are, have no leads so far.

Hi guys,

I am thinking all you cephalopodophiles will love reading the stories of Ken MacLeod en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_MacLeod With super-evolved squid working as starship pilots and stuff.

What d'you think?