Friday Cephalopod: Adorable! I will name him George and I will hug and pet him and squeeze him!

bluerings

Uh, maybe not. What if it gives you a tiny little nibble?

Now, 10 minutes later, you notice something strange. Your lips are going numb. So is your face. You want to yell for help but can’t: It’s getting harder to speak. And your stomach feels—oh, gross! Right in front of everyone.

Somebody calls an ambulance. It’s getting tough to stand. It’s getting tough to breathe. The numbness is spreading to your hands, feet, and chest. And you continue to be aware for every agonizing moment of it.

You get to the hospital in time. You get hooked up to a ventilator, the machine forcing air into your lungs because your diaphragm is paralyzed. No antidote, the doctors say. You have to wait it out. About 15 long hours later, your muscles start working again. They take you off the ventilator. You can breathe.

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I found one once. Two things occurred to me:
1. Beautiful. Really, really lovely creature.
2. Smallest octopus I have ever seen....almost exactly the right size to fit in the palm of your hand....

We grew up knowing that a bite from one of these things was certain death.

By Craig Thomas (not verified) on 15 Jul 2015 #permalink

General rule: _Do not ever_ touch wild animals unless you know for certain that the species in question is safe, and that the individual in question does not have signs of a transmissible disease e.g. rabies in mammals.

I read the linked article. Australia, eh? That figures: some of the most deadly snakes, spiders, etc., are found there.

General rule #2: When visiting Australia, wear a space suit, and do not take it off until you leave.

I was working in a Pearl shell farm in the Monte Bellos (Hint; 50's Big kerboom) and when we were disassembling the culture racks these little guys would come tumbling out. Only nasty when they fall into your gum boots. We were always followed by sea snakes when fishing for shell. They seemed interested in the bubbles. Never interacted with the divers.

"almost exactly the right size to fit in the palm of your hand…."

Made exactly that mistake with a Spanish Dancer nudibrach.

By Russell Seitz (not verified) on 23 Jul 2015 #permalink