I need some help with this one. Can anyone give me the common name of this squid, which has been named Stauroteuthis syrtensis? It's some sort of cirrate octopus, but I'm having trouble getting the goods on this creature.
I do know that the "suckers" on the arms are actually photophores -- light-emitting organs used to distract both predator and prey. I also know that if I encountered one of these things while in full deploy, I would never go scuba diving again. But that's not saying much: my additional marriage-weight has made my wetsuit a bit snug, making the whole issue moot.
Thanks for the photo, Ida.
UPDATE: Evidently, this squid has no common name. Anon has suggested that we come up with one. Any ideas? Leave comments.
Photo source: Sharenator
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29 comments:
This page says it has no common name. You should make one up!
-a lurker who loves UO
The first thing that came to mind;
Hindenburg Squid!
Dunno why though... lol :)
Call it the Blanket Squid! Or perhaps the Smothering Squid (because I swear it looks like it's planning on doing that.)
Isn't it the Vampire Squid?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_squid
Vampire Squid (Vampyrotheutis infernalis) was my first guess, as well. You can watch a segment from National Geographic on it here.
Most pictures of it don't look like yours, but it gets clear in the video. It's mostly down to the color, I guess.
The Crimson Ribbed Shopping Bag.
I thought it looked like a vampire squid, too, in red phase. Most cephlapods can show various phases, like Gatorade flavors.
Love the site, been reading for a little while now.
Southern Belle Squid!! Rotate till it's upright and that's a loooovely hoop skirt it's got! ;-) (Scarlett O'Hara Squid also works, on multiple levels)
Parachute Squid
Oh it's beautiful! I thought vampire squid too- they are high on my long list of favourite cephalopods.
Yvonne took my idea for parachute squid, but Scarlett O'Hara Squid is pretty good, too!
It looks like the inside of a tomato, so why not "tomato squid?" :)
why not "Lantern Squid"?
Gaping Maw Squid
It's certainly not vampyroteuthis. And there's already a blanket octopus...
Hah, I thought of parachute squid as well.
I think it looks like a bell pepper... maybe we could combine this with the whole Scarlet O'Harra thing and call it a "Belle Pepper" Squid. : p
Sherry SofN
i was thinking "Poppy Bloom" Squid -- it looks like the big orange california poppies my mom grows in the summer.
This one's easy, PARACHUTE SQUID
because.. it looks like a parachute.
I was thinking "Snaggle-Toothed Umbrella Squid". I'm not sure why, but the first thing I thought of when I saw this thing was an umbrella with fangs.
Farthingale squid or Pannier squid
It just remebers me a lot of these historical hoop skirts.
The picture in the link makes it clear: It's a Carnival Ride Squid.
I love the "Snaggle-Toothed Umbrella Squid" idea!
I'd go with the Scarlett O'Hara squid suggestion!
I was thinking ballgown squid myself.
1. Its not a squid. Its an octopus. The Vampire Squid isn't a squid either, but more closely related to octopods.
2. The "fangs" are called "cirri", (hence it being a cirrate octopus), and are tactile organs.
As with most cephalopods the Tree Of Life webpage is a very good source of information.
I favour "ballgown octopus"
Thanks, Dave.
I found the answer you're looking for! Great site by the way. Stauroteuthis syrtensis (Cloud Octopus)
debutante octopus
I would say we should call it either: 1. The Cloacked Octopus of DOOM!
or
2. The Cloacked Octopus of International Mistery!
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