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Vampire Squid And The Evolution Of Cephalopod Sex

Everyone loves vampire squid, right? Their monstrous name belies their gentle nature as graceful...

Learning Science From Fiction: A Review Of Ryan Lockwood’s “Below”

In last month’s review of Preparing the Ghost, I mentioned that you can actually learn facts...

Usurped By Legend: A Review Of Matthew Gavin Frank’s ‘Preparing The Ghost’

When you read something in a book, do you believe it? You might say, “Of course not if it’s...

Squid Lady Parts

This Bobtail squid was imaged by the Deep Discover ROV in Atlantis Canyon, is less than one foot...

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Danna StaafRSS Feed of this column.

Cephalopods have been rocking my world since I was in grade school. I pursued them through a BA in marine biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, followed by a PhD dissertation at... Read More »

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Ceci N'est Pas Un Calmar

Ceci N'est Pas Un Calmar

Jul 24 2011 | comment(s)

There's a giant ceramic squid in a New York art gallery.
Walking into the gallery, you encounter the 16-foot-long, beached creature, its opalescent, slick-looking flesh seeming to putrefy, lying in a puddle of its own ink. You expect its tentacles to quiver in a final death-throe.
Despite the distraction of seeing the singular form of "throe" for the first time in my life, that's still a pretty striking image.
Honk if You Love Invertebrates

Honk if You Love Invertebrates

Jul 22 2011 | comment(s)

I really want a bumper sticker that says that, with this picture:


Obviously the news CotS is up! Go check it out at the Artful Amoeba--it is seriously awesome.

HONK.
The Man From Planet Squid

The Man From Planet Squid

Jul 20 2011 | comment(s)

Oh man oh man this is really cute:


It's the brand-new storefront of a shop that sells only merchandise related to this creature. His name is Ikaaru Seijin, which the Japan Times claims means Man from Planet Ikaaru.

My Japanese vocabulary is extremely limited (ika=squid; tako=octopus) and my grammar nonexistent, so I can't complain, but couldn't we just take the extra step and translate it as the Man from Planet Squid?

Anyway, I really want to go to Hakodate now.

Adrenalise Me

Adrenalise Me

Jul 19 2011 | comment(s)

(I guess this goes in the "Science&Society" Field, or maybe just "Random Thoughts.")
 
Anyway, there's a short film coming out this summer, a promotional thing for the World Wildlife Fund, called "Astonish Me." It popped up in my news feed because the colossal squid is one of the many animals highlighted by the film. The director, Charles Sturridge, commented:
I Want To Go To New Zealand

I Want To Go To New Zealand

Jul 18 2011 | comment(s)

Giant squid are pretty cool, right? If you want to see one (without having to go fishing) then you have a number of museums to choose from. Specimens and models are abundant enough that Indie Squid Kid put together a giant squid tour: Architeuthis Across America . . . and Beyond! (Someday I'll visit all those giant squid. Someday!)

But what's even cooler than a giant squid? Obviously, a colossal squid. And there is only one colossal squid on exhibit in the whole world. It's at the Te Papa museum in Wellington, New Zealand.
Cephalobotics

Cephalobotics

Jul 17 2011 | comment(s)

The Economist has published a highly amusing (at least to me) and informative article about "the new robotics," inspired by the diversity of natural forms: