cephalopods
pharyngula | December 23, 2011
(via Aquaviews)
One of the bonuses of having lots of legs is that you can go bipedal whenever you feel like it.
(via TONMO)
A fun suggestion: do a google image search for "Wonderpus". Be prepared to go blind.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | December 10, 2011Game over, man. No cat video can ever be as awesome as this: two mimic octopuses mating.
It's like watching a nest of snakes break out into a barroom brawl. It's also the most erotic thing I've ever seen on the internet.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | December 7, 2011You think you're safe because you're terrestrial? Further evidence that the invasion is imminent:
Foolish humans, thinking it is "cute". It was merely looking for a major artery before biting down.
(Also on FtB)
milhayser | December 5, 2011
On Pharyngula, PZ Myers tries to imagine an ancient squid, preying on reptilian whales and arranging their vertebrae as a testament to its glory. He writes "I love the idea of ancient giant cephalopods creating art and us finding the works now. But then, reality sinks in: that's a genuinely, flamboyantly extravagant claim, and the evidence better be really, really solid. And it's not." The claim comes from a fossil site in Nevada, where a cluster of ichthyosaur remains have long been thought to come from "an accidental stranding or from a toxic plankton bloom." But paleontologist Mark…
pharyngula | November 21, 2011Soon, we'll be able to reach you anywhere.
And no, your precious cats will not be able to save you.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | November 11, 2011I'm feeling a little hipster resentment here — all these nouveau poulpe crashing into my internet turf. But oh, OK, this new blog on SciAm called Octopus Chronicles looks good, and you know I'm never going to abandon the molluscs in a snit over all the other people fascinated by them. There's room for all of us.
While we're relishing the expanding cephalopodian nature of the internet, check out the octopus having dinner on the move — it's wonderfully amoeboid and slithery.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | November 11, 2011Somebody thought they could stump the squid by giving it a background it could never imitate — but look! It wins the unwinnable scenario by going transparent!
There's more on cephalopod camouflage at the BBC.
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | November 4, 2011I don't have a link for this, but it was created by Kara Treibergs and Laurel Hiebert for the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology. And it is so true!
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | November 4, 2011There's something really notable about this image. Most cartoons feature the octopus as the villain; this one has the cephalopod representing the good guys, the 99%, strangling the villainous mammal. It breaks the stereotype!
Is it weird that I identified with the mollusc and felt a little happy uplift when I saw that?
(Also on FtB)
pharyngula | October 27, 2011Watch the cuttlefish stalking shrimp, cautiously advancing by walking on a couple of arms — it almost looks like a tetrapod for a few moments. And then, finally, the lightning-fast strike. Oh, man, I wish I had a retractable spear built into my face. There are so many occasions when that would come in handy.
(Also on Ftb)
pharyngula | October 8, 2011This collection of cephalopod-themed political cartoons reveals a tragic bigotry: anything with lots of tentacles always gets characterized as the villain.
Can't they see? More arms just means a greater ability to give hugs!
(Also on FtB)