Friday Cephalopod: Do not make Mr Octopus angry

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(Image from Cephalopods: Octopuses and Cuttlefishes for the Home Aquarium(amzn/b&n/abe/pwll) by Colin Dunlop and Nancy King.)

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It's December, and Squidmas is coming. Maybe you're like me, and the kids have all moved out, so you're thinking having a little intelligent life at home would be nice. Or maybe you're kids are still home, and you think they'd love a pretty pet. Or maybe you just love cephalopods, as do we all, so…
Grrlscientist asked me for a blue cephalopod the other day, and what do we all think of when blue cephalopods come up? Blue ringed octopuses, of course. So lovely, and so deadly. Hapalochlaena Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.
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Octopus mototi In case you're baffled by the rather arty shot, here's another image: Figure from Cephalopods: A World Guide (amzn/b&n/abe/pwll), by Mark Norman.

You're a cruel man, mr Atheist.

First you get us in the mood with Betty Paige.

And then you put up her angry father!

Tha one looks as I feel after a session reading some of our inane trolls.

By John Phillips, FCD (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

Ink-a-dink-a-doo, a dink-a dee, a dink-a doo
Oh, what a tune for crooning...

awesome pic. super cool looking. man, doc, you're getting lit up with traffic today my man.

we're only "frightened" of this because we're used to being scared of land bound mammals. i dont think there's anything in the ocean that would be scared of this for it's "eyes".

to me it looks like a clitoris.

"to me it looks like a clitoris."
Jeepers , moother , you been looking at some scary vajayjays then .

Except for the pudendum, it could resemble a giant grouper head therefore capable of frightening away some predators.

Did you hear where Blogojevich has sought the counsel of three reverend ministers? He must be a decent fellow after all. /s

I'm guessing this ceph pops into this pose in the blink of an eye. That would be enough to startle most anything.

Blog and ministers are PRAYING!

"Only you, god, can get my ass out of this jam."

RT NZ

Thank you, that made me laugh out loud.

What's that owl doing under water?

moother - everything looks like a clitoris to you these days. With a handle like moother I would have expected you to be fascinated by udders. *wink*

It looks like batik to me.

By Patricia, OM (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

What a cute critter!

Freakin' awesome!

Sorry moother, I don't see a clitoris there. To me, it looks like a crazy, angry owl with a giant testicle on his chin. Poor guy.

Holy moley. They actually DID model Squidward on a real cephalopod. Look at that honker!

Moother you obviously havent studied clitoral anatomy too closely. No one did until a bright spark anatomist in Melbourne Australia did a proper dissection and learned the female structure has more below the visible part than above, ie a very long shaft of erectile tissue. I think the clitoral owners you've examined were probably on steroids.

Back to the angry cephalopod: eyes in animal kingdom (including us of course) elicit either a love (mating) response or a fear and flight response. Hence men have waxed lyrical about loved ones's eyes or conversely many a fight has started with words similar to - "What ya lookin' at you ***##%%***"

Hope this clarifies this beguiling post. OOh, I think I'm in love ...  Mindy xxx

By mindlesley (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

Amazing!

By Peromyscus (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

moother's clearly alluding to the other pareidolia post. I was gonna make the same joke he/she beat me to it.

And I have the same question too, are there a lot of animals with big round yellow eyes that this guy's predators would be afraid of?

Anger - I Haz it.

@4: thanks a lot. I followed the link, and now my IQ has dropped 15 points.

Bastard.

By Simon Scott (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

Did anyone ever tell you you're cute when you're angry?

By Samantha Vimes (not verified) on 12 Dec 2008 #permalink

...because you wouldn't like him when he's angry.

*incredibly hulk theme plays*

Oooooh he is scarey.

But I love him anyway!!!!!!

Nice shot.

Is that a starfish this critter is in the act of consuming? Between legs one and two on the left? Or is it just a poor angle on a fish?

Just curious.

By Robert J. Grieve (not verified) on 13 Dec 2008 #permalink

Oooooh he is scarey.

But I love him anyway!!!!!!

Aaaaawwww!!
He's SO cute. Looks like an angry little King (with the crown, y'know). I'd love to have that critter in the hallway, scaring unwanted guests away.
But then, I live in an apartment building and people I don't want to have around do not even get up to my apartment door.
That's so sad.

Anyway, maybe I'll print that little guy and put him on the cookie jar to scare flatmates and my boyfriend away.
(Anyone interested in cookies? I made a wagonload today.)

Yes ROBERT I DO THINK IT IS A STARFISH whoops cAPS LOCK STUCK. It made potentially fatal error of mistaking angry cephalopod for a nice algae-covered rock. I've almost made similar one in Australia, once nearly picking up blue-ringed octopus - not friendly critters for we humans to go fondle. mindy xxx

By mindlesley (not verified) on 14 Dec 2008 #permalink

Whoops indeed It's probably on rock beneath and tentacle is just curled in a fashion that makes it look like on it. Sorry for misperception however colored. Tho it was nice to tell you guys about one of our lovely lethal Aussie fauna. minimally sincere apologies Mindy xxx

By mindlesley (not verified) on 14 Dec 2008 #permalink