Cephlapods to Celebrate!

Yes, I'm a huge fan of all things Invertebrate but chephlapods (squids, octopods, Nautalids etc.) are among my favorite. They'd be a VERY close second to spiders.

Today, I would like to focus on the Vampire Squid:

How can you not love a creature whose scientific name (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) literally means, "vampire squid from Hell."

That seems no more appropriate when you see a picture of the cirra lining it's "cape" (membrane between the arms).

Also note the deep red colour in this shot:

This deep-sea dweller also possesses some of the best photophores (light producing organs) on the planet! To see that in action please watch the following video which is one of the coolest things I've seen in a very long time! Note the eerie reflection in the super-sized and sensitive eyes:




The Vampire Squid makes it as #1 on my ongoing list of, "Cool and Confounding Creatures," list for being enigmatic, ugly and scientifically unique!
This list has yet to be published but you can bet it's in the works so stand by.

For more information about the Vampire Squid say, "Nosferatu," five times fast and go to these sites:

http://tolweb.org/Vampyroteuthis_infernalis

http://www.marinebio.com/species.asp?id=179

http://pharyngula.org/index/weblog/comments/friday_squidblogging_vampire_squid/

http://www.answers.com/topic/vampire-squid

http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/vampy.php

http://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=1764

http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Vampyroteuthis_infernalis.html
http://www.cafepress.com/buy/vampire%20Squid/-/cfpt2_/x_20/cfpt_/source_searchBox/copt_/y_10
- yes, you too can get vampy squid related merchandise from non-other than Cafepress. ;)

There will be future posts on the topic of "Cephlapods to Celebrate." There's more than a few of them in the news these days.

OoOooohhh, I just found another video - this one is also cool, despite the animal-planetized made-up-documentary style. Ignore the commentary and it's Squid - not octopus.

The Hole - video powered by Metacafe

Greetings and Salutations! ;)

To date, this blog has no real purpose other than a collecting place for things I find cool. For the most part that's going to involve animals of some kind whether they be wild, pets or extinct.

This will start with my behbehs! The undisputed queen of my small-apartment menagerie is this little muttlette:

To the left you will see a picture of my most perfect little girl - Moxie. Now, if you are tempted to compare her to, let's say, some poor wretch of an animal having the misfortune to belong to Paris Hilton, you'd be sorely mistaken. Moxie is FAR too Feral for that sort of nonsense.


She is not carried in a crocodile bag with only her head showing. She plays with other dogs and sniffs more than her fair share of bottoms. In other words, she has a chance to BE A DOG! And, like everything she does, she does it with gusto. ;)

Here are some more shots of her as a pup:
Stand by for some later pictures where I compare her to: a Warg, a dingo a Jackal and a hyena. :) She thinks she's a rottweiler. She is also the light of my life.