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New Squid Discoveries

hachihyaku

Gone But Not Forgotten
(ACCOUNT RETIRED)
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Messages
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http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/20011220/sc/science_squid_dc_2.html
Link is dead. No archived version found.


This thing is 20-25 feet long, hangs upside down and uses its extremely long limbs like a net. It seems almost unresponsive to its surroundings. Nobody has ever seen one until recently.

So this is a good sign... if a 25-foot long squid with behavior and morphology unlike that of any other can be undetected for thousands of years, who knows what else is down there... plus, it gives me hope that we'll soon film a living giant squid :)

More pictures:
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/vol294/issue5551/images/large/se4619991001.jpeg
Link is dead.
See later post for a salvaged version of the MIA image.
 
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Wow, that thing is really creep looking. Thanks for the link. I see your at FSU. I'm from VT. The Hokies are gonna get you in the Gator bowl:D
 
Fascinating stuff! It gives me a chance to trot out my pet theory that the real Masters of the Universe are squid (despite what David Icke et al say about reptiloids)!

Sea monsters - giant squid!
Ufo's diving into the sea? Flying squid!
Loch Ness (and other lake) monsters? Squid on a visit!
Ghosts, Bigfoot, Chupy? Squid employing their considerable pyschic abilities.

So, having solved all the world's paranormal mysteries, I can get back to my main research, perfecting the rum-filled pasty...
 
it has been said that the loch ness monster could be an elephant squid so u could be onto something there rynner

as for the new squid found, isnt that a scary looking thing! imagine standing on that thing on the beach with no sandles on.

and for the japanese amoungst us! u can look forward to a new menu with this baby

bon apetit
 
They bear an uncanny resemblance to the aliens in Independence Day.
 
This is really cool. I imagine they must have had quite some goosebumps when it showed up on the screen.

But is it just me or does it not seem all that squid like? Maybe I have only seen the stereotypical squids, but it seems to me it could just as well be somehting unsquidish. It has long tentacles yes. But they do not resemble the tentacles of any squid I have seen neither the squid or octopus. It seems kind of like the first part of them is stiff, while being bendable seems to be the usual. And even though the arms might be sticky, as someone mentioned it sounds more like something involuntary. Glue instead of suction cups. And then of course a new kind of behaviour.

Is it really a squid?
 
Xanatic said:
Is it really a squid?
It seems to be occupying the ecological niche of a jellyfish. Paging Dr. Shuker....
 
My theory is they were the very first form of life on this planet, coming across space from far away. They spawned all lower lifeforms as a sort of scientific experiment, and they're just sitting there watching what's going on. Now that we've spotted them, they're probably going to have to kill us and start over.:eek!!!!:
 
ninja said:
All sounds very Cthulu to me.

Well it looks very Cthulhu to me!

Didn't Lovecraft have these "Elders" some sort of pentasymetrical creatures which originally had ruled the world but now had degenerated and lived far beneath the waves... they were the closest thing humanity had to allies against the Great Old Ones, but only because they were natural enemies or something...

But hey! I made my San Check!

Niles "Tekilili" Calder
 
Squiddy mood

I'm gonna bump this thread 'cos although its pretty old the photos in the original post are really interesting - take a look.

sciencemag.org/content/vol294/issue5551/images/large/se4619991001.jpeg - This is the one that still works.
Link is dead. No archived version found.

We have quite a few squid/octopus threads now - is it feasible to group threads into a kind of subforum or is that too much hassle? Similarly with other cryptoids and other subjects entirely in fact.
 
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Searchlight Squid

Big squid news day clearly - new luminous squid (is it?), new type of luminosity:

Scientists Discover Luminous Squid

Thu Jan 8, 2:00 PM ET

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - A squid with a novel type of reflective plates that form a built-in light it may use to confuse predators has been discovered by scientists in Hawaii.


While other luminous sea creatures are known, the reflective plates on the Hawaiian bobtail squid differ from those of other animals, according to researchers at Kewalo Marine Laboratory, University of Hawaii-Manoa.

The light itself is provided by colonies of luminescent bacteria that live on the squids, the researchers report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

"Light organs are not uncommon in nature," observed Wendy J. Crookes, first author of the paper. "In this one the light organ does have a lens similar to an eye in some respects, but we don't really know its capabilities in terms of specifically directing light."

"The light is subtle, but it's there," she added. "We think it's a counter-predatory camouflage."

The two- to three-inch squids forage and mate at night and predators that eat them tend to hide in the sand, looking upward.

"We think it projects light down, and that looks like moonlight so the squid doesn't cast a shadow and is not silhouetted against the night sky," Crookes said.

The plates that reflect and seem to focus the light differ from reflective plates found in other animals, the researchers said.

While reflective plates in many aquatic species are formed from chemicals called purines, in this squid they were made from an unusual type of protein the researchers named reflectin.

The chemical composition of that tissue is very unusual, agreed Michael Vecchione, director of the National Systematics Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Crookes said the research team led by Margaret J. McFall-Ngai is now studying the relationship between the squids and the bacteria that produce the light. The bacteria and squids have a mutually beneficial relationship, Crookes said. Such relationships are common in nature, including beneficial bacteria in the human gut, she noted.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...753&e=10&u=/ap/20040108/ap_on_sc/bright_squid

Link is dead. No archived version available at the Wayback Machine.

Same report and good pictures:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/01/08/tech/main592194.shtml

Differntish report and a great picture (attached):

Nature's 'searchlight' could leave inventors squids in

A squid that shines like a torch could lead to a new generation of optical tools.

Scientists have been studying the Hawaiian bobtail squid which aims a beam down from its belly as a searchlight when looking for food.

It also helps protect the squid from predators by reducing its tell-tale shadow on the ocean floor.

The creature's light-producing organ is powered by glowing bacteria. But the beam is produced by stacks of reflecting plates which surround the it.

A team of researchers described the mechanism in the journal Science.

They found that the silvery reflector plates were made from an unusual family of proteins, dubbed "reflections".

Most animal light reflectors tended to be made of crystals. Reflections seemed to be unique to cephalopods - the group of animals that includes squid, octopus and cuttlefish.

The scientists, led by Wendy Crookes from the University of Hawaii in Honolulu, said the structure of the reflecting plates could offer inspiration to nanotechnology designers.

Reflections had an unusual and previously undescribed amino composition of amino acid building blocks.

Story filed: 19:18 Thursday 8th January 2004

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_853565.html

Finder's credit goes to TONMO:

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1758

Emps
 
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Good find Emps.

The light itself is provided by colonies of luminescent bacteria that live on the squids,
.

I have a soft spot for symbiosis. Makes me go all teleological...
:D
 
There is something right about it ;)

Another article and a nice picture:

Hawaiian Bobtail Squid Glows from Below

By Kate Ruder



Posted:
January 9, 2004

The tiny Hawaiian bobtail squid Euprymna scolopes hunts for shrimp at night and buries in the sand during the day.
Image courtesy Science.

The Hawaiian bobtail squid beams light from its belly to camouflage its dark shadow from predatory fish on the sea floor, and now scientists know how.

The small squid is about two inches long and swims in shallow waters around Hawaii. It searches for and feeds on shrimp at night, when moonlight would cast the squid’s shadow on the sea floor below and alert fish that might eat the squid.

Researchers have discovered that the squid has developed specialized proteins in its belly that reflect light given off by luminescent bacteria that live on the squid. The reflected light camouflages the squid’s shadow, and the squid is effectively masked in its own moonlight glow.

The new proteins, which the researchers dubbed “reflectins,” are found in a special organ in the squid’s belly called the light organ reflector. In addition, similar proteins are found around the squid’s eyes and could help the squid see its food.

“The proteins are unlike anything that anyone has seen before in both their composition and behavior,” says Wendy J. Crookes of the University of Hawaii-Manoa in Honolulu, who was a member of the research team.

You or I probably could not see the squid’s beam of belly light with the naked eye. The researchers use specialized instruments in the lab to measure the squid’s glow.

The squid proteins might someday be used to manufacture nanomaterials for optics and human medicine, although even the researchers admit that this is speculative.

. . .


Crookes, W. J. et al. Reflectins: The Unusual Proteins of Squid Reflective Tissues. Science 303, 235-238 (January 9, 2004).

http://www.genomenewsnetwork.org/articles/2004/01/09/squid.php
 
Or maybe it is a tiny batlight, so they can call for help when there is a predator around. Then some squid in a batsuit will come to the rescue :D
 
Large squid takes it own picture

I always knew they were crafty buggers but this........

Here's looking at you, squid

By SIMON BENSON Environment Editor

February 18, 2004

THIS is no ordinary squid. Lurking in the dark depths of the Southern Ocean, it gives a first glimpse of what lies in areas never before explored.

And the image was somewhat of a fluke.

The squid attached itself to a probe sent down by scientists, activated the camera shutter and snapped a picture of itself.

"The squid somehow managed to cling to the equipment encasing the camera and activated the shutter, taking this gorgeous picture of itself," an Australian Antartic Division spokesman said.

"It's taken at around 100m depth in the waters around Heard Island."

For the first time, a new world has been uncovered beneath the waters of the sub-Antarctic Heard Island through a marine research program aboard the Antarctic research vessel Aurora Australis.

Expedition leader, biologist Dick Williams, said pictures revealed a diverse array of animals on the sea floor.

They included commercial species such as the patagonian toothfish and mackerel icefish. Also shown are octopus and spectacular gardens of feather stars, sea anemones and soft corals.

"This is the first time scientists have been able to look deep into this part of the Southern Ocean, the world's most powerful ocean," he said.

"Our use of this equipment was really a test run to see if it would do what we wanted.

"Until now we've only been able to guess at what it might look like, so we're thrilled by the pictures of these bottom-dwelling invertebrates and fish in their natural habitats."

http://dailytelegraph.news.com.au/story.jsp?sectionid=1260&storyid=914660

Spotted by the good people at Tonmo and its being discussed here:

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2042

http://www.tonmo.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=2047


Links are all dead. No archived version available at the Wayback Machine.

The resident teuthologists can't pin down the species from the picture at the time of writing this.

[edit: Actually I'm assuming it is large there is no scale so.......]

Still interesting if it is a medium sized squid too - esp. if it is unknown to science ;) ]

Emps
 
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Off topic; did you notice the mention of the ice-fish in that article?

I've just been reading about them;

as you may well know, gases dissolve in cold water better than in warm water;
the ice-fish lives in water so cold that its blood can carry enough dissolved oxygen without haemoglobin.

So these ghost-like, nearly transparent fish have clear blood...

they are the same colour as the ice for which they are named.
 
haven't heard of those fish before, that is interesting though, any increase in temperature has to be lethal though! Any pictures of it? Does this fish have an anti-freeze in its blood as well?
 
I am sorry to report that I can't open that site. I would love to see that picture of Ctulhu's cousin.
 
I can't loose the image of a Bedknobs and Broomsticks style of squid, posing in front of an old camera on a tripod and wincing at the flash going off...

To the tune of "Chattanooga Choo-Choo" ...
"Pardon me boy ... is this the lair of Great Cthulhu?"
 
Could anybody help me to get to the picture? For some reason I can't opent the story. Thanks.
 
As luck would have it I have taken to storing up various images I run across and so I've attached it below.

Emps
 
Emperor said:
As luck would have it I have taken to storing up various images I run across and so I've attached it below.

Emps

I think this squid is a great photographer. Nice composition. Maybe someone should give him/her a camera.
 
Emperor said:
As luck would have it I have taken to storing up various images I run across and so I've attached it below.

Emps

Oh, and thank you Emperor.
 
What an absolutely beautiful picture.

Isn't nature marvellous?
 
Thanks for saving the image. My thought is that another squid took the photo while this one posed.
 
Yer but..... no but....

How big was the squid? Was it a giant squid or just a tiny one very close to the camera? (to paraphrase Father Ted)

:confused:
 
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