Return of the Monster Squid

Photo via The Orlando Sentinel
They're back. Time for the invasion of the Humboldt squid off the southern coast of California.

These normally deep-sea dwelling cephalopods have come to the surface to...well, we don't know why. But they're causing quite a stir among even veteran scuba divers. Some are staying out of the water, some are going in. Here's an experience Shandra Magill had recently:

On a recent night, Magill watched in awe as a dozen squid with expressive eyes circled her group, tapping and patting the divers and gently bumping them before dashing away.
One especially large squid suspended itself motionless in the water about a yard away and peered at her closely, its eyes rolling, before it vanished into the black. A shimmering incandescence rippled along its body, almost as if it were communicating through its skin.
But the next night, things were different: A large squid surprised Magill by hitting her from behind and grabbing at her, pulling her sideways in the water. The powerful creature ripped her buoyancy hose away from her chest and knocked away her light.
When Magill recovered, she didn't know which direction was up and at first couldn't find the hose to help her rise to the surface. The squid was gone.
“I just kicked like crazy. The first thing you think of is, 'Oh my gosh, I don't know if I'm going to survive this. If that squid wanted to hurt me, it would have,” she said.

As a scuba diver myself, I can understand wanting to jump in and get a good look. As an animal with a self-preservation instinct, I also understand wanting to stay home with a bag of Cheetohs, with the comforting knowledge that I won't be eaten by a mollusk.

Thanks for the article, Ida.

Mating Quid-Pro-Quo

I really should post more about these slugs, seeing as they don't live too far from me. This one comes to us from Betsy, whose son's finger is in danger of being slimed.

Here are a couple of factoids about the Pacific banana slug.
*They are the second largest terrestrial slug (the largest being the European Limax cinereoniger -- uppity Europeans, thinking you're so clever with your huge slugs...).
*Like most slugs, they come equipped with two pairs of sensory tentacles. The upper, larger pair (called eyestalks) can perceive light, while the lower two detect chemicals. Both can be retracted.
*The breathe through a single lung.
*The slime they secrete to aid in avoiding dehydration is also laden with pheromones to aid in mating. The slimy scent is the slug equivalent of a human's 'come hither' curled finger.
* These creatures, like most (all?) slugs, are hermaphrodites, and mating consists of exchanging sperm with each other. It's a slug mating quid-pro-quo.

Thanks for the photo, Betsy. I hope your son got his nickle back. The slug seems to be taking an interest in it.

Ocean Rivalries

AskMen.com has just done a top 10 line up of ocean rivalries, complete with footage from National Geographic. Ever wondered what would happen if a Portuguese man-o-war crossed tentacles with a sea turtle? How about a mantis shrimp versus a hermit crab? Well, now you can find out. Don't worry; each of these rivalries is naturally occurring, and the fights weren't staged.

Here's one such encounter: a dogfin shark meeting a pacific octopus. Watch as the blank defeats the blank.

No Easy Way to Get a Geoduck

This is one creature I've had many an encounter with while clamming on the Northern California coast. They make for good eating in chowder, and they make you work for them. There's just no easy way to get a geoduck (pronounced gooey duck) clam out of its sandy home.

You find them in one of two ways. One is to watch for the high sprays of water that mark where they're retracting their necks down the into the holes from where they have been feeding. Or you can do it like this woman, and spot the tell-tale lips among the seaweed, right at the mud's surface.

Photo source: C. Chase Taylor


















Then you dig. You dig and dig and dig (we use a manual pump made from PVC pipes). Then you lay down on your side and plunge your arm into the darkness of the muddy slush, find the neck, feel your way down its length until you can reach the shell. Inevitably, the shell is too far down, and you have to continue to slurry the mud out until you can get to it. The big clams are often still too far down, way below your arm length, and they get away. But you'll still get your fair share (following the limits of your fishing license, mind you).

And this is what you pull out.



















Just trust me when I say that they're delicious. I know they look abominable, but now I'm hungry, and it's lunch time.

Thanks for the links, Mike.

Stop Looking at Me

Conchs come in all sorts of shapes and sizes; the term has been vulgarized to refer to any number of marine snails. But true conchs have that familiar claw shape, which they use to dig through the sand and to push it along in short bursts (can't really picture that one). The largest extant conch is the queen conch, which can reach a size of three feet.

I don't know if this is a true conch. All I know is that it is looking at me, and I wish it would stop.

Photo via Knuttz

Floridan Sea Hare

The Aplysiomorpha family of sea slugs is a large one. It includes, arguably, the largest gastropods on the earth (a coveted title). They are called sea hares. Here is one such creature.

Herbie took these photos in Key West, Florida, US. His hand is in no jeopardy, since the sea hare only puts its rasper to use on sea weed. And neither is the sea hare in any danger. That last shot isn't a gory one. The sea hare squirts dark ink ("You made me ink.") It just happens to look like blood. Not a bad choice of color, really.

All we need now is a sea tortoise, and we've got a marine fable to tell. Anyone got one?

Thanks Herbie.

Mystery Holes

Ever wander the beach, find the perfect shell, and flip it over only to find that there is a perfect little hole drilled into it? I've had it happen dozens of times. I always wondered what caused it, but for some reason assumed that the mystery holes formed postmortem.

Thanks to Jelo, the mystery of the shell holes is solved.

Enter the moon snail. These large snails cruise the sandy foam of the shoreline and tidal pools in search of their prey: clams, mussels, etc. If it's got a shell, it's food. They're like gastropod bulldozers with one mission in mind: a seafood dinner.

They look too big for their shells, don't they? That's because when they come across a less mobile clam, they envelop it with their over-sized mantle and go to work drilling their way through the shell while the clam lies there helpless.


















They do so with a raspy tongue (radula) that scrapes a perfect hole in the shell (aided by secreted chemicals). Once they've made their way through the shell, they proceed to dine. It's a slow process, but snails are patient (more snail wisdom to come in future posts). There are lots of ways to die in the ocean. This one seems like one of the less pleasant ones.

Think the snail won't fit inside the shell? Just pick one up and start poking it. It will shed water like a little sprinkler system until it fits inside. Go on. I dare you. Be sure to video it.























Thanks, Jelo. Now I know who the culprits are.

Giant and Cuttley

Photo source: Doug Anderson
I've gone diving quite a bit, and on low-visibility days I've found it hard not to look over my shoulder every so often, just to make sure some leviathan or denizen of the deep hasn't crept up on me. Or at least to make sure that the monster targeted my dive buddy first. I guess I've always been afraid that I'd turn around and see something like this looming behind me (those tentacles can only be intended to grip my head in a bid for siphoning out my brains).

But I wouldn't ever encounter this creature in my California coast diving. This is Sepia apama, the Australian Cuttlefish. These are the largest cuttlefish in the world, often weighing in excess of 11 lbs (5kg). That's not too much mollusk to be afraid of, but still, you'd be in their environment, and these creatures are very intelligent (the most intelligent of the marine invertebrates, according to some). They can crawl, swim, move by jet propulsion, are attracted to bright colors (like my pasty pink skin), and are curious about divers.

If you do want to see one in person, get in line. Every year, from June to August, these creatures assemble in the waters of Whyalla, Australia, to mate (a romantic event involving the male placing his spermatophore inside a pouch just below the female's mouth, followed by the sperm-filled capsule bursting). And they do so in enormous numbers.

Divers, photographers, and researchers come every year from all parts of the world to witness the spectacle. I might go myself, though tthose dangerous beaks and rasping tongues make the prospect daunting (oh, and the cost of travel).

Slug Panting

Jen is a proud resident of New Zealand, where the typical slug is only a couple of centimeters long. Imagine her shock and horror when she traveled to the UK and found this huge slug along an urban Birmingham footpath.

My best guess is that it is the red or rufus form of the European black slug. You can see the indentation of the slug's pneumostome, just behind the slug's 'neck', on the right side. A pneumostome is an opening found on land slugs and snails, usually on the right hand side, used in respiration. You can only see it when it's open. And they only open it about once every two minutes when fully hydrated. More often when dehydrated. Could this be the slug equivalent of panting?

Thanks for the photo, Jen.

Cryptid Squid(s)

You're looking at a screenshot from a video taken of what's been dubbed the long-arm squid. But you also might be looking at the adult version of a bigfin squid.

The bigfin squid (Magnapinna s.) is a cryptid, meaning it is an animal for which we have a dearth of information. Specifically, we have only *officially* seen its larval, paralarval, and juvenile stages. No one can confirm that they've seen the adult stage. But we *think* we have.

Photo source: ToLweb.org


























Magnapinna is Latin for 'great fin'. This squid earned it because the fins on its head are very large, with distinctive morphology. So when researchers encountered this squid seen above (and in the video below), they saw the fins and thought, hey, we just might have found an adult Magnapinna.

They hadn't expected the long arms (elastic, and reaching a length of 15-20 times the mantle length). That's why the young ones have the name bigfin, and the adults the name long-arm. But the 'adults' have only ever been captured on film, and so have never been studied beneath the scalpel and microscope. Not until then can we confirm any link between the two cryptids.

Watch out for this video; it's flickery, has the feel of the beginnings of a horror film, and the squid reminds me at first glance of the queen alien from Alien.

Thanks for the squid, Christopher. And Happy Halloween.

Conch Eyes

Stare into the squirrelly eyes of the conch. There are oodles of different types of this marine mollusk, some of which are true conchs, some of which have elaborate shells that lend themselves to use as horns by youths trapped on an island inhabited by pigs, and some of which have the crazy eyes you see below. I think Jim Hensen used these as inspiration for a lot of his creations.

Thanks for the photo, linty.

Photo source: WildSingapore.com.sg

Of Slug and Bug Eyes

Lee Ann went on a road trip this summer and snapped shots of some of the critters she encountered. Here are but two of them.

I've looked into the eyes of an elephant and sworn I saw an intelligent mind looking back at me. I've looked into the eyes of a puma that was being walked past me within a couple of feet and sworn I saw unmitigated malevolence. But I've had zero reaction when looking a slug in the eyes.

I believe you are now looking a black slug (Arion ater) in the face. Also known as the black menace, this slug is an unwelcome addition to any lawn or garden. Their nasty-tasting slime is a deterrent to most would-be hunters, but some animals still hunt them (can you really hunt a slug? at least, with any pride in calling it hunting?). Just keep some hedgehogs or badgers in your garden, and voila, no slugs. But then you're stuck with pesky hedgehogs and badgers.

UPDATE: there is a consensus among readers: The second bug is a wheel bug. Don't ever trust me to come up with a good bug ID. I'll go flagellate myself now.





















Last we have a gray bug from Pennsylvania. I think it's some variant of a squash bug. But there are roughly 1,800 species in the Coreidae family, so I can't get more specific. Suffice it to say that this bug probably just dined on *gasp* a squash or other food plant of some sort. Again, no emotional reaction from looking it in the eye. Maybe that's just my 'higher order animal' bias. I'm such a bigot.

Thanks, Lee Ann.

Fractal Octopi

Mary sent me an article from PinkTentacle about instances of mutant octopi in Japan.

These creatures are rare, but every so often an octopus with extra tentacles is discovered. These octopi typically have the usual eight tentacles branching off their trunk. But then the tentacles branch out themselves, and continue to branch out, until you have something like the last specimen: an 84-limbed beast. You end up with a fractal octopus.

These creatures seem to hold their own in the wild. The first photo is of one that lived and even bred in captivity. Morgan has already disabused us of the notion of octopi being uber-intelligent. Rather, they use that abundance of neurons to control their many tentacles. I imagine those same neurons were working over time to coordinate all these extra limbs.

Thanks for the link, James, Mary, and Annica.

Photo source: PinkTentacle.com

Ghost Slug

Irene called me out on my claim that if you hear about a new creature that it was probably discovered on Madagascar. But a new slug has been unearthed, to date only found in Wales, specifically in Cardiff and Caerphilly. Behold the Ghost Slug (Selenochlamys ysbryda).

The ghost slug earned its name because of its pale flesh and subterranean lifestyle (very chic in the mollusk world). But there is something very unusual about this diminutive monster:

Unlike most slugs, the ghost slug is carnivorous and kills earthworms at night with powerful, blade-like teeth, sucking them in like spaghetti.

I can imagine a worm-oriented horror film called Nightcrawler. Only, the twist is that the Nightcrawler isn't the worm, it's the ghost slug! **shriek**

The closest cousin to this slug is found in Turkey and Georgia, so researchers have no idea how the ghost slug made it to Wales (hitchhiking?). One possible scenario is that it was inadvertently introduced via plant pots many hundreds of years ago, making the slug an alien species. Welsh earthworms are so happy about that accident.

The first photo is of an adult slug, the second one of a baby.

Thanks, Irene.

Photo source: Rhagor

Smarty Pants Octopi

According to Slate.com:

Aristotle didn't have a high opinion of the octopus. "The octopus is a stupid creature," he wrote, "for it will approach a man's hand if it be lowered in the water."

Oh yeah, Aristotle? Can you open a mason jar with your tentacles and eat the crab inside like in this video (sucks to be the crab)? They've got half a billion neurons, which puts them on par with mammals and birds and Greek philosophers.

Thanks for the article, Ida.

Octopus with a Rasta Hat

What kind of octopus wears a rasta hat? And why can't I be that diver?

Come on, you cephalopodophiles, identify this one for me. There are between 650-700 species of cephalopods in the world, roughly a third of which are octopi (octopuses, octopodes). Can you at least narrow it down?

Scientific Deduction

I've searched and searched for some evidence of vampirism in the Vampire Squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis, lit. "vampire squid from hell"). My first thought was, hey, they live in low oxygen levels (as little as 3% saturation). Maybe they 'suck' oxygen from their prey. Nope. Then I thought that since they live in a nearly aphotic (lightless) environment, maybe they're allergic to light. But no, these creatures are highly bioluminescent--they have photophores all over their body, and spray a glowing fireworks cloud in place of ink.

There's no mention of them being able to transform into a bat (or, batray?), and they do have a reflection. Obviously, they can cross running water. That leaves only the possibility that they are allergic to garlic or crosses. That, my friends, is scientific deduction.

Thanks for the photo, Ida.

Photo source: Sharenator

Squid Spawning

Here's something to piggy-back on the unnamed squid from earlier this week. It's a video of a mother squid releasing her hatchlings. If you're short on time, fast forward to about minute 3 and enjoy (the music may put you to sleep, so be careful). It's more ethereal than ugly, but it's a squid. I never knew they did it like this (this species at least). It's like mommy squid is equipped with a literal maternity blanket that she gently shakes to release her little ones.

Thanks for the video, Simone.

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

Geoducks Are Delicious

You're looking at a geoduck clam (pronounced 'gooey duck'). I've got lots of experience with these, having gone clamming for them for years now off the coast of Northern California. I use the old-fashoned method of syphoning the slurried mud with a pump made from PVC piping, a steel rod, and a tennis ball, then diving to my belly in an eager grab for the elusive clam's retreating neck. The big ones usually survive an encounter with me, because their necks are long enough that their bodies are more than six feet down, enabling them to get just beyond my six-foot reach. At least it's sporting, and few things are as humbling as being outwitted by a creature with a negligable nervous system.

These suckers are the second-longest living creature on the planet, second only to the giant tortoise. Oh, and wouldn't you know it: they're considered to be aphrodisiacs in Asia. Having eaten my share of them, I can say that there are few Western foods less sexy than a bowl of salty goop filled with mollusk bits, but maybe I'm missing something. After all, raw fish eggs seem to do the trick.

Thanks for the geoduck, Annica.

Photo source: Dark Roasted Blend