Giant Squid First Time on Film

Giant squid, like all squid, have sharp beaks, not unlike those of a parrot. They use them for biting into the fish and invertebrates that they eat. In the stomach of a Sperm whale, those beaks can accumulate. In fact, Sperm whales are often found to have thousands of the beaks in their stomachs!

But the sharp beaks irritate the stomach lining. As a reaction to the irritation of all the squid beaks, the whale produces in its intestines a cholesterol derivative which has come to be called ambergris. First discovered in ancient times as a substance of unknown origin which would wash ashore, it wasn't until the whaling era that the true source of the material was found.

When it is first removed from a whale, ambergris is a thick, black, foul-smelling liquid. Later, it hardens into a waxy aromatic substance. When heated, it produces a pleasant earthy aroma. It was used as a fixative in perfumes because it causes the scent of perfume to last much longer. The Greeks, Chinese, Japanese and Arabs have all held ambergris in high regard. Today we have synthetic substances which accomplish the same thing, so there is no need to hunt whales for it, and trade in ambergris is now banned worldwide by treaty. Yet, every once in a while a rare piece will still wash ashore somewhere.

Coconut Octopus

 Amphioctopus marginatus, also known as the "coconut octopus" or "veined octopus",
 is a medium-sized cephalopod belonging to the genus Amphioctopus. It is found in
tropical waters of the western Pacific Ocean. It commonly preys upon shrimp, crabs,
and clams, and displays unusual behaviour, including bipedal walking and gathering
and using coconut shells and seashells for shelter. Source: Wikipedia

The main body of the octopus is typically around 8 centimeters (3 in) in size, and, with
 arms, approximately 15 centimeters (6 in) long. In this amazing capture by photographer
 Mario Neumann, the contrast of the white suckers to the rest of the octopus and sea
floor makes it look like some kind of alien spaceship.

Giant Squid Eyes

 


The giant squid sees the world with eyes the size of soccer balls. They’re at least 25 centimetres (10inches) across, making them the largest eyes on the planet.
Why does the giant squid have a champion eye that’s at least twice the size of the runner-up?

Dan-Eric Nilsson and Eric Warrant from Lund University, Sweden, suggest that the world’s biggest eyes evolved to spot one of the world’s biggest predators – the sperm whale.

Using a mathematical model, they found that in the deep ocean, eyes suffer from a law of diminishing returns. Small eyes can see dramatically further if they grow a bit bigger.

Using their model, Nilsson and Warrant found that enormous eyes have advantages over eyes that are merely large. Specifically, they’re much better at spotting other large objects that give off their own light, in water deeper than 500 metres. There’s one animal that fits those criteria, and it’s one that giant squids really need to see: the sperm whale.

But in the dark oceans, how could the squids see them? Nilsson and Warrant note that while sperm whales don’t produce their own light, they frequently disturb animals that do. When they dive, they knock tiny animals like jellyfish and crustaceans that flash in response.
These shimmering outlines would be too faint for most animals to see, but not the giant squid. Nilsson and Warrant showed that its huge eyes could pick up this light from 120 metres away, and they can scan a huge sphere of water for those tell-tale flashes.

From: http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/03/15/giant-squid-what-big-eyes-you-have-all-the-better-to-spot-sperm-whales-with-my-dear/

Baby Octopi

 "Shortly after being put on exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences, this Caribbean Octopus vulgaris took up residence inside a glass bottle, on full view for adoring fans. Just as quickly, it moved back under a rock and started denning, and laying eggs. While eggs being laid in captivity is generally an exciting event, this particular species, like many but not all octopus, stops eating after it lays eggs and dies soon after they hatch which tends to put a damper on the joyous occasion. The biologist responsible for their care, Richard Ross, caught the hatching of the eggs from start to finish on film, and describes it as a waterfall flowing upwards toward the water's surface. Now, Ross faces the difficult task of trying to support thousands of tiny hatchlings. This species is "small egged" meaning it produces large numbers of very small planktonic 'paralarvae' which are notoriously difficult to feed and raise. The adult female and hatchlings will be on display for as long as possible in the Staff Picks area of Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences." From www.zooborns.com

Walktopus by Scott Musgrove

Take a look at Scott Musgrove's other work.