Jun 10, 2008

Squid Info Needed

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

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

This page says it has no common name. You should make one up!

-a lurker who loves UO

Annica said...

The first thing that came to mind;
Hindenburg Squid!
Dunno why though... lol :)

Anonymous said...

Call it the Blanket Squid! Or perhaps the Smothering Squid (because I swear it looks like it's planning on doing that.)

Elusis said...

Isn't it the Vampire Squid?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_squid

Argent23 said...

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.

BillyWitchDoctor said...

The Crimson Ribbed Shopping Bag.

Anonymous said...

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.

g3 said...

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)

Anonymous said...

Parachute Squid

Ali H said...

Oh it's beautiful! I thought vampire squid too- they are high on my long list of favourite cephalopods.

morgan said...

Yvonne took my idea for parachute squid, but Scarlett O'Hara Squid is pretty good, too!

Jade said...

It looks like the inside of a tomato, so why not "tomato squid?" :)

Unknown said...

why not "Lantern Squid"?

Unknown said...

Gaping Maw Squid

It's certainly not vampyroteuthis. And there's already a blanket octopus...

Katie said...

Hah, I thought of parachute squid as well.

Anonymous said...

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

bonnie-ann black said...

i was thinking "Poppy Bloom" Squid -- it looks like the big orange california poppies my mom grows in the summer.

Anonymous said...

This one's easy, PARACHUTE SQUID

because.. it looks like a parachute.

Anonymous said...

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.

Anonymous said...

Farthingale squid or Pannier squid
It just remebers me a lot of these historical hoop skirts.

Anonymous said...

The picture in the link makes it clear: It's a Carnival Ride Squid.

Unknown said...

I love the "Snaggle-Toothed Umbrella Squid" idea!

Anonymous said...

I'd go with the Scarlett O'Hara squid suggestion!

Victorya said...

I was thinking ballgown squid myself.

Anonymous said...

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"

Raging Wombat said...

Thanks, Dave.

smiley said...

I found the answer you're looking for! Great site by the way. Stauroteuthis syrtensis (Cloud Octopus)

Christopher Yates said...

debutante octopus

Giuseppe The Kurgan said...

I would say we should call it either: 1. The Cloacked Octopus of DOOM!

or

2. The Cloacked Octopus of International Mistery!