Archive for the 'Life Oddquatic' Category

Imitation Cephallic Extremities for Your Home

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Jason
on August 20, 2008
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Squid Replicants [via TONMO]
A couple of years ago we need a replica squid beak for a project at work. We ended up going with a custom fabricator, but I always figured there would be a market for a mass produced version. It seems this notion also occurred to the folks at Skulls Unlimited, since they now offer a casting of a giant squid squid beak (Architeuthis sp.) for US$95. According to Clem’s review on TONMO, the folks at SU will soon follow up with a colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis sp.) replica too.

Cephalopod Residents
Also of note on TONMO is a new book by Nancy King and Colin Dunlop called Cephalopods: Octopuses and Cuttlefish for the Home Aquarium (US$40). Keeping these critters in captivity is a challenge even for the most veteran aquarist. This book looks to be a good resource on the husbandry of cephalopods.

Pseudo Pristis pectinata
If a squid beak replica the size of your hand is not impressive enough, you can instead get a replica sawfish rostrum from vivre.com for US$250. The real rostra were a staple marine life curio for many years. But the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) is the first marine fish to be listed on the U.S. Endangered Species list and possessing any part of an actual sawfish without a permit is now illegal. So satisfy your kitsch with a resin rostrum instead.

Goblin Shark Bites Scuba Diver (Mitsukurina owstoni)

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Jason
on August 13, 2008
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cephalopodcast_goblinsharkjaws_sourceunknown.jpg

Frame from a YouTube video showing a goblin shark coaxed into biting the arm of a diver in a wetsuit. Ownership pending.

[via ectomo.com]

If you missed it, there has been some recent news about the incredible bite force of sharks, suggesting that the extinct Megatooth shark had chompers more powerful than a Tyrannosaurus rex. It is easy to see how the giant, cleaver teeth of this prehistoric fish could deliver such powerful chops.

But compare this Megatooth tooth to the more needle point teeth of the goblin shark featured in the video below. It shows a goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) coaxedprovoked into biting the wetsuited arm of a scuba diver. I have not heard about this footage before, and I do not understand the (presumably) Japanese dialog. If anyone can translate or offer additional details, I would be obliged. I am especially curious to know what depth the divers were at.

In addition to the teeth, the protrusible jaws of the goblin shark are also remarkable. I’ve seen pictures of dead goblins that show the palatoquadrate sticking out, but seeing them in action is jaw-inspiring. Around the gills you can also see the flaccid skin that is typical of deep water animals like the goblin shark.

If you are interested in learning more about the biting power of sharks and other fish, check out the Web site of Dr. Motta’s lab at the University of South Florida. He and his students study the jaw kinesthetics of elasmobranchs, in collaboration with the researchers at Mote Marine Laboratory (where I work).

Squidology: biggest, bigger, big

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Jason
on August 5, 2008
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Colossal
The Squidcam is back as they begin moving the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) out of formalin and into a new display tank. Dr. Steven O’Shea will be working with the specimen.

A live webcast will begin on Wednesday, 6 August starting at 9:00 a.m. (NZT) (click for other timezones).

Cover of the In Search of Giant Squid Curriculum Guide showing a large-eyed squid, PDF [232x300, 20K]

In Search of Giant Squid Curriculum Guide (PDF)

Giant
In 2006, the Smithsonian and NOAA put together a series of educational products to compliment their traveling exhibit on the giant squid (Architeuthis spp.). The curriculum guide is geared for grades 5-8 and includes lesson plans, websites, student worksheets, and a teacher answer key. This PDF guide is still available for free. You can also try the Giant Squid Challenge by answering the PDF quiz about the legendary creature:

  1. A giant squid’s eyes can reach the size of _____.
  2. It’s easy to exaggerate the size of giant squid because _____.
  3. Newborn giant squid, or paralarvae, have
    been found _____.
  4. The bodies of giant squid have washed ashore in _____.
  5. Male giant squid are _____.
  6. The only known predator of adult Architeuthisis _____.
  7. The giant squid is the world’s longest _____.
  8. You’ll probably never be served a meal of giant squid. They taste disgusting because _____.
  9. When threatened, most squids will squirt out a blob of ink to distract the predator. Scientists call this squid-shaped blob of ink a pseudomorph, which is Greek for _____.
  10. One reason scientists don’t believe giant squid rely on great speed to capture their prey is because their _____ is thinner than those of better-known, very fast squid.

Jumbo
KQED also did a nice video production on the Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) recently.

A mysterious sea creature up to 7 feet long, with 10 arms, a sharp beak and a ravenous appetite, has invaded ocean waters off Northern California. Packs of fierce Humboldt Squid attack nearly everything they see, from fish to scuba divers. Marine biologists are working to discover why they’ve headed north from their traditional homes off South America.


 

A Shark’s Guide to Idiots

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Jason
on July 30, 2008
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Close-up, underwater shot of an Epaulette Shark resting on the bottom, its barbels and brown markings clearly visible [240x180, 17K]

Flickr photo: Epaulette Shark by richard ling
Creative Commons: Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

Recent research suggests that when faced with suffocation, epaulette sharks are able to “turn off” electrical impulses to the eye and other parts of their nervous system to conserve energy.

The Life Oddquatic

There are a lot of weird things in the ocean. The Life Oddquatic is a feature about some of them. This week’s topic also satisfies my compulsory contribution to Shark Week.

A Monument to Their Ego and Ignorance

There is a short piece in the New Yorker about a psychiatrist and his second-story shark tank. The story brought back memories of many things I hated about working in a fish store. As a friend pointed out, many men who get a shark tank think they are getting it for the fish, but what they end up with is usually a monument to their ego and ignorance. Some choice excerpts from the article confirm my bias.

  • » The pet shark may be the new pit bull—the mascot of the outsized ego, the Hummer of the living room.
  • » The fish, a blacktip reef shark, was caught in Indonesia six months ago and supplied to Saul by his longtime fish guy (“I found him through my stereo-system guy”).
  • » The shrimp were for three eels, hidden among rocks on the tank’s floor. “Do you see where the eel has a scar?” Lynn asked. “The shark is biting it.”
  • » It’s going to be awesome when we get another two sharks in there

Based on these details, I have serious doubts about the future of these animals. When I worked in a fish store we would not sell requiem sharks (Family Carcharhinidae). I wish I could say it was a decision motivated by conscience instead of economics. But the fact of the matter is, requiems like the blacktip reef shark rarely do well in a store or in a hobby home. They require hundreds of gallons of swimming space, eat expensive food (or expensive tank mates) and are especially skittish, slamming themselves to death against tank walls when spooked.

Today, if someone insists on keeping a shark, I insist that they first read Aquarium Sharks and Rays by Michael W. Scott. Scott does a pretty thorough job of describing which species do better in captivity, recommending the bamboo and epaulette sharks (Family Hemiscylliidae) as the more suitable. But the Hemiscylliids are not your classic looking shark. They are elongated, almost serpetine, resting on the bottom and “walking” around on the sea floor. They are also comparatively small (107 cm or 3’ 6”) and their natural habitat is the confined crannies of tidepools and coral reefs. A knowledgeable hobbyist would recognize that these characteristics of a Hemiscylliids are better for acclimating to a life in captivity than the free-swimming, streamlined lifestyle of a Carcharhinid.

Another recent and amazing adaptation detailed on the Discovery Channel’s Web site is the ability of some Hemiscylliids to “turn off the electricity” to avoid suffocation. Since these animals live in shallow waters, they often encounter hypoxic conditions (low oxygen levels). Researchers determined that under these conditions, the sharks turn off electrical activity to their eyes, effectively going blind. It is probable that the sharks also shut down other parts of their central nervous system as well.

Despite all of these remarkable adaptations of the Hemiscylliid, I would still counsel against owning a shark as a pet. Perhaps the carelessness and callousness that I witnessed in my fish store daze has jaded me. But I’d rather see these creatures in the sea than on the streets of the Greenwich Village.

More Shark Week in the Blogosphere

Q: What Does a Mermaid Keep in Her Purse?*

Published
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Jason
on March 20, 2008
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Skate egg (070618)
Eggcase from a skate. © J. Robertshaw

The Great Eggcase Hunt

With the coming of spring in the northern hemisphere also comes a time to hunt for eggs. But it’s not just about birds anymore. The folks over at the Shark Trust also want people to head to the beach to look out for the fecundity of fish.

Colloquially known as mermaid’s purses, eggcases are the protective capsules laid by skates and some rays**. Inside is a tiny baby skate and a big yolk sac. Typically the capsules have odd keels and horns to help them remain tangled in seaweed and camouflaged on the bottom. The young develop for several months before hatching out as miniature adults. But after hatching, the horny cases begin to breakdown and may come loose, washing up on the shore. Storms might also dislodge living ones from the bottom. If you find a lot of eggcases in an area, it may indicate that a skate nursery is located nearby. This kind of information is valuable to conservationist who are trying to protect these species.

Why does the Shark Trust want you to record eggcases? In recent decades several species of skate and ray around the…coast have dramatically declined in numbers…The identification of these critical areas will enable the Shark Trust to propose conservation measures, in order to reverse the decline of these charismatic animals.

So now’s your chance to contribute to skate and ray conservation and have a lot of fun at the same time.

They have a lot of resources for citizen scientists and for educators who want to organize a local eggcase hunt. And if you don’t live near the coast, you can still take some time this spring to create your own giant eggcases (PDF link) out of balloons and papier-mâché. Or better yet, make some chocolate ones that you can send to me!

Rabbitfish Helping to Save the Reef

Continuing with my aquatic version of things vernal, there is news that rabbitfish might be helping to save the Great Barrier Reef. Many herbivorous reef fish species like parrotfish and tangs regularly graze on the fast-growing algae of the reefs. But apparently they only like to eat it when it’s young and not too weedy. This is where the rabbitfish comes in.

“Then, to our even greater surprise a fish we had never seen in this area before was observed grazing on the weed. The rabbitfish (Siganus canaliculatus), came out of nowhere and began to clear-fell the weed placed on the reef crest.”

The rabbitfish were caught on underwater videocams, in schools of up to 15 fish, grazing the crest, slopes and outer flats of the reef, and chomping away at more than ten times the rate of other weed-eaters.

sƎʇɐʞs ɹƎɥ :ɐ*

Death of a Gill Man, Ben Chapman R.I.P.

Published
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Jason
on February 22, 2008
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[via metafilter]

I wrote about the Creature from the Black Lagoon back in October. Sad to report that Ben Chapman, the actor that played the Gill Man, has passed away at the age of 79.

Ben Chapman, Gill ManChapman was a retired real estate executive. But his role as the Gill Man — the quintessential 1950s monster in Universal Pictures’ black-and-white film in 3-D — became his worldwide calling card and made him a darling on the collectibles and sci-fi circuit throughout the world.

The Gill Man’s place in the Universal monster lineage was a priority for Chapman, since he was the longtime lone survivor in a parade of horror monster flicks that dated to the 1920s. He cited predecessors Lon Chaney Sr. in “Phantom of the Opera” and “Hunchback of Notre Dame” in the 1920s, Bela Lugosi in “Dracula” and Boris Karloff in “Frankenstein” in the 1930s, and Lon Chaney Jr. in “The Wolf Man” and “The Mummy” in the 1940s.

Sharktoberfest

Published
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Jason
on October 31, 2007
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[x, K]
Yesterday, the aquarist at work carved pumpkins while underwater in the Mote shark tanks.

Lurking for You: Creature from the Black Lagoon

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Jason
on October 31, 2007
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The Creature from the Black Lagoon [150x200, 35K]

Blogfish was kind enough to tag me with the Hallomeme. Before it’s too late, I wanted to plunge deeper into one of his suggestions for an aquatic-themed scary movie.

The Creature from the Black Lagoon

The quintessential aquatic monster movie for me is The Creature from the Black Lagoon. It was scary because I grew up on a lake. Scary because that lake was in Florida, where the movie was filmed. Scary because my older sisters liked to wrap themselves in bog moss and tickle my legs, like the Gill Man did to Kay Lawrence. And it was scary because of Dick Bennick.

Dick Bennick was better know locally as Dr. Paul Bearer. At the time of his death in 1995, he was America’s longest running horror movie host. With him it was easy enough to segue from a morning filled with cartoons to a afternoon of Creature Feature on Channel 44, WTOG. I rarely knew ahead of time what horrible old movie would be showing. But I always hoped it would either be Gamera or the Black Lagoon.

Synopsis: Cuter than Cthulhu

Creature from the Black Lagoon was a black-and-white film released on March 5, 1954. It was filmed and originally released in 3-D and is considered a classic of the 1950s.

A geology expedition in the Amazon uncovers fossilized evidence of a link between land and sea animals in the form of a skeletal hand with webbed fingers. Another expedition is sent back to the Amazon to look for the remainder of the skeleton. However, when they return they discover that the entire research team has been mysteriously killed, perhaps by a jaguar. Excavations turn up nothing. But it’s suggested that perhaps thousands of years ago part of the embankment with the skeleton washed downriver. The tributary empties into the eponymous “Black Lagoon,” where unbeknownst, the amphibious “gill man” is watching, taking a special interest in the beautiful Kay Lawrence. The brave male scientist dive to collect fossils. But when Kay goes swimming, she is stalked by the creature. It gets caught in the ship’s draglines, and while trying to escape, leaves behind a claw, revealing its existence.

Further encounters with the creature claim the lives of some of the crew members, before the gill man is captured and locked in a cage aboard the steamer. When it escapes, Kay hits the gill man with a lantern. As they ship leaves for civilization, the way is blocked by fallen logs, courtesy of the escaped gill man. More tragedy as the monster abducts Kay and takes her to his cavern lair. The survivors chase and rescue her. The creature is riddled with bullets and stabbed in the heart, before sinking myseriously into the depths of the Black Lagoon.

Modern Monsters

If you read the lost interview with Dr Paul Bearer, you get a sense of what a racket it was to schedule television programming back in those days. A similar sentiment comes through in this interview with Ben Chapman, the actor who portrayed the original gill man on land (Ricou Browning did the UW scenes).

We complain about the odious content restrictions of the RIAA and MPAA nowadays. But the crazy thing is, for the moment, I no longer have to wait through a month of Saturdays for it to show. I can watch it right now, for free, via Google video.

And maybe next year I will remember to order the feet, hands and head for a Gill Man costume.

Jasonopod, the cra-octopus

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Jason
on October 18, 2007
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Jasonopod, the cra-octopus, buildyourwildself.com [300x400, 132K][via neatorama]

Something fun from the Wildlife Conservation Society: Build Your Wild Side. It’s a marketing gimmick, but a wild one.

And in the tradition of infecting other bloggers, I challenge the following to build their wild self too and pass on the meme:

Cephalopod Awareness Day: Vintage Octopus Wrestling (video)

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Jason
on October 7, 2007
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Celebrate Cephalopod Awareness Day, October 8, 2007

AKA: World Octopus Day, Squid Appreciation Day

pic_icad071008d.gif


We begin our celebration of the First International Cephalopod Awareness Day with a look back. I found this little carbuncle on the Internet Archive, and it proves you can mix the great taste of peanuts butter and octopus. It’s a 1950s show called You Asked For It, and it features a moment in the life of Ben Frick, octopus trapper, Washingtonian and “delightful fella.” Skip the knife thrower and fast forward to minute 07:00 to see all the action.

pic_icad071008b.jpg
EDIT: Sorry folks. Internet Archive embedded player isn’t playing nice with Wordpress. Click the image above to open the movie in a new window.

pic_icad071008a.gifApparently, octopus wrestling used to be pretty popular in the States around this time, as evidenced by this 1949 article in Modern Mechanix: Octopus Wrestling Is My Hobby. And this one from a 1965 edition of Time, Adventure & the American Individualist:

Merely to minnow about underwater is no longer enough, and such sports as octopus wrestling are coming increasingly into vogue, particularly in the Pacific Northwest, where the critters grow up to 90 Ibs. and can be exceedingly tough customers. Although there are several accepted techniques for octopus wrestling, the really sporty way requires that the human diver go without artificial breathing apparatus.

It would seem that the Japanese continue this tradition, albeit with less lively opponents and the disadvantage of being on land.

Fun facts about salmon and a brand new dance

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Jason
on September 22, 2007
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There are many things to dislike about this video. Mixing limnetic and stenohaline fishes. Confusing a Holocentrid for a Salmonid. Undergravel filters. But then you realize the kid is probably just tripping and the beatbox blowfish is really amusing. So don’t sweat the details and just give it up for Sammy the Salmon and his amazing salmon dance…


mild profanity

Auction of the Blue

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Jason
on September 4, 2007
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Blue Auction Presentation[via Practical Fishkeeping]

The way that taxonomy normally works, the person that describes a new species also gets to give it a new name. This bit of binomial classification is often a staid affair, although sometimes it can get a little silly. However, some researchers have cottoned on to the idea of selling off the privilege of naming rights to raise funds for more research. And this scheme recently gained a little more chic with the addition of Chrisite’s as the auctioneer and the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco.

The Blue Auction is an historical event offering individuals, companies and organizations the opportunity to bid for the privilege of having their name (or a name of their choice) forever attributed to new marine life species recently discovered off the coasts of the Bird’s Head Seascape in Indonesia by Conservation International.

A total of 12 lots shall be auctioned by Christie’s, and the proceeds will benefit marine conservation programs associated with the long-term preservation of such species as well as other environment and biodiversity-related programs. Participation to the gala event is for qualified bidders and by invitation only. Donations from interested parties and unsuccesful bidders are welcome.

Auction lots include:

To see the habitat that these funds will be used to protect, check out the interactive photo essay over at National Geo.

So how much would you pay to name a new species? Which of these organisms do you think will get the highest bid? I reckon the shark will be the most sought after. And what about this whole notion about selling off naming rights? Is nothing sacred? Or is the whole notion of binomial classification fundamentally flawed anyway?

“Albino” Shark

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Jason
on August 8, 2007
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[via Plankton forums]

Reports of an unusual “albino” sand tiger shark (aka, grey nurse, Carcharias taurus) are coming in from Austalia. Pictures and videos available by following the links.

This rare albino grey nurse has been spotted at Australian’s best known diving and fishing spot Fish Rock.

The photo of the 2.2m male was taken by Fish Rock Dive Centre owner Jon Cragg 2km off South West Rocks.

Mr Cragg was speechless when the amazing creature swam past him.

“I saw the big white shadow in the water with two other sharks then when I saw it I couldn’t believe it, it was like a ghost coming out of the darkness,” Mr Cragg said.

“No one has ever seen one like this before - it was pretty exciting.”

Must be something in the water down under, because this is not the first albino shark found there.

Sealife Tattoos for Science

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Jason
on August 7, 2007
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my tattoo, by colinj [100x75 , 10K]So the meme of the moment is focused on science tattoos. It is something the kids seem proud of today and they are not alone.

Naturally enough, cephalopods provide a lot of inkspiration when it comes to tattoos. Over at TONMO they did a reader survey to find out what motivates people to go under the “pen.”

The most popular location for a cephalopod tattoo is the lower back, with four (25%) tattoos residing there. The left arm was a close second (3), followed by a 3-way tie for right arm, left leg, and upper back (2 each).

So why do people choose to get a cephalopod tattoo over something different? Here is some of the insight provided by our responders. It’s interesting to note the prevailing observation that cephalopods are so “alien”-like.

  • When I was a kid my uncle took me scuba diving, and I held a small octopus on that arm [where I got my tattoo]. It was such an amazing experience…
  • I’m a scuba instructor, and they’re my favorite…
  • my favorite animal since i was a kid
  • Cephalopods are my favorite creatures on the planet. They are not only highly intelligent and full of personality, but they are both entirely alien looking (compared to all other animals) and adorable at the same time.
  • I like cephs a lot, and have devoted a lot of time to them. More importantly, I found an image of a ceph that resonated with me, and seemed to reflect other aspects of my life besides cephs.
  • …you can’t really sail to French Polynesia and not get a tattoo, so i got one of an octopus…
  • I love cephalopods - the last (known) living sea monsters, intelliegent, and alien to us - but given that most of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans, they’re probably more abundant than even all 6 billion of us. Their colors and elegance of motion make them living art (to me, anyway).
  • ‘cuz they’re just so gosh darn squidly!

They have galleries containing tattoo images broken down into three categories: octopus, cuttlefish, and squid. An interested cephaloblog reader was also kind enough to share his sinewy octopus tattoo with me and I am glad to see it turned out pretty well.

But I’ve never been inked myself. I’m afraid if I did, it would end up looking something like Dicrostonyx torquatus. :P

See also

UPDATE: The meme continues.

White Whales and Pink Dolphins

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Jason
on July 2, 2007
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[via Plankton Forums]

Reports of an albino dolphin photographed near Lake Charles, LA.

[S]potted and photographed by Capt. Erik Rue of Calcasieu Charter Service on June 24th, 2007 during a charter fishing trip on Calcasieu Lake….

It appears to be an uncanny freak of nature, an albino dolphin, with reddish eyes and glossy pink skin. It is small in comparison to the others it is traveling with and appears to be a youngster traveling with mama.

Compare this to reports of a white humpback whale near Australia.

Stellar Sealion attacks Californian Sealion

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Jason
on May 25, 2007
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[via SHARK-L]

An unusual observation of sealion behavior near Ano Nuevo Island made by Sean Van Sommeran, Executive Director/CEO of The Pelagic Shark Research Foundation. It is of a Stellar Sealion (Eumetopias jubatus) attacking a Californian Sealion (Zalophus californianus).

[W]e observed dispalcement of water, gathering birds and a slick in the distance, close to shore off the North end of the island, almost in the channel between the mainland and the Island itself.

Big splashes, red water and big struggling pinniped of some sort.

Then the water erupts again, [i]ts a large male (subadult) stellar sealion with a california sealion rag-dolled in its mouth like a pit bull with a chihuahua.

The stellar sealion just destroyed the juvenile common sealion (Zalophus).

What’s stranger still is that the stellar sealion was not only dismantling the sealion but eating it.

This has only been reported a few times and was the first time any of us had witnessed it.

Here [are] pictures taken with my little 7.5 mp Olympus digi, they are now up on our image archive:

http://www.pelagic.org/archive/2007-may-8-stellarpred/index.html

At first we though it was a white shark predation on a large seal, instead it was large sealion eating another sealion.

Tip of the tentacle to JW