Lmst

New paper out on the formation mechanism of cameral deposits in orthoceratoid cephalopds! This topic has been debated for more than 150 years and we now finally have a satisfying solution 🥳

https://doi.org/10.1111/pala.70032

#palaeontology #cephalopods #orthoceratoids #Triassic #fossils #biomineralization

Cross and longitudinal sections of Trematoceras, a straight-shelled cephalopod. Each section also shown under cathodoluminescence, showing yellow, blue and red colours.

Just bridged my account from Mastodon to Bluesky using @bsky.brid.gy so you can now follow me on either platform! Still relatively new to all of this, trying to figure things out as I go ...

#palaeontology #macroevolution #phylogenetics #cephalopods

An ethical committee approval is needed to work with 1.5 millimetre-long squids in the UK, says the Home Office officer who just came back from a trip to the Mediterranean that included many a meal with 25 cm-long grilled squids.

Oh, you are working with late embryos prior to hatching? Then no ethical permits are required. The honorary primate status, i.e., "sentient beings", is only for hatched, free-living cephalopods.

So prior to hatching, cephalopods aren't sentient beings?

In any case, bear in mind these 1.5-mm squids have ~30,000 neurons, about 1/5th of those in the brain of a fruit fly that the same officer doesn't hesitate to squash with an adroit flick of the hand. And for which no permits are required, whatsoever.

And a honeybee, with 600,000 neurons in its brain, is not a sentient being?

None of this will ever make any sense to me. It is not science. Perhaps not even politics. I don't know what it is.

#academia #cephalopods #UK #neuroscience

Squid Empire by Danna Staaf, 2017

The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods

The ancient, mysterious, intelligent, and adaptable creatures who once ruled the oceans
Before there were mammals on land, there were dinosaurs. And before there were fish in the sea, there were cephalopods-the ancestors of modern squid and Earth's first truly substantial animals. Cephalopods became the first creatures to rise from the seafloor, essentially inventing the act of swimming.

#books
#nonfiction
#cephalopods

With dozens of tentacles and formidable shells, they presided over an undersea empire for millions of years. But when fish evolved jaws, the ocean's former top predator became its most delicious snack. Cephalopods had to step up their game. Many species streamlined their shells and added defensive spines, but these enhancements only provided a brief advantage. Some cephalopods then abandoned the shell entirely, which opened the gates to a flood of evolutionary innovations: masterful camouflage, fin-supplemented jet propulsion, perhaps even dolphin-like intelligence. Squid Empire is an epic adventure spanning hundreds of millions of years, from the marine life of the primordial ocean to the calamari on tonight's menu. Anyone who enjoys the undersea world-along with all those obsessed with things prehistoric-will be interested in the sometimes enormous, often bizarre creatures that ruled the seas long before the first dinosaurs.

This is only a few minutes later, but I'm not 100% if it is the same octopus. It looks more annoyed at being discovered than relieved at slipping back into a hole.

I'm not sure why this one is red. Most octopus can control their body color, but I'm also about 30cm away here, much closer than the previous shots. So it may be a combination of lighting, less loss of colour from the water, and octo-feelings.

Body and eyes of Wonderpus, Sogod Bay #Philippines #scuba #cephalopods

Body and eyes of red and white octopus protrude from hole in the sand. Both eyes are visible, and from this angle they look like they are on knobs sticking off the body.

The body itself about 3 times longer than wide, roughly lozenge shaped, tapering in behind the eyes.

Same octopus, heading for a hole in the sand.

Sogod Bay #Philippines #scuba #cephalopods

Same redbrown and white octopus (see alt text for first image in thread for more information). Compared to the previous image more "webbing" skin behind the tentacles is visible and only the tips of a few of the arms are out of frame.

Building an #Octopus Dictionary, One Arm Movement at a Time
#Scientists set out to understand all the ways the animals use their 8 appendages. They pored over footage of wild #octopuses, noting how #cephalopods flexed and twisted their arms as they explored their surroundings, hunted and scrambled over seafloor. To build their visual dictionary, the researchers examined two hours of video footage each of 25 wild octopuses in a variety of habitats.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/11/science/octopus-arms-video-dictionary.html
https://archive.ph/OoAsh

A few seconds later my many armed friend had had enough of me and started speeding across the sand.

Sogod Bay, #Philippines #scuba #cephalopods

Same red-brown and white octopus "in flight". Body is streamed out behind the vertical eyestalk Y and the arms are more visible, also kindof flailing around.

This "Wonderpus" actually came back out of hiding to check me out after the rest of the group swam a bit farther away.

Sogod Bay, #Philippines #scuba #cephalopods

Red brown octopus body centered in frame, upper parts of arms fill most of the remaining frame. Head is shaped like a Y with eyes on the tips, with a lozenge shaped sac attached to the join of the Y and extending backwards. Arms have white bands on them, while head has more chaotic white markings on Y with white dots on sac.

Octopus Tetracirrhus (1851) by Jean Baptiste Vérany, from Mollusques méditeranéens.

Source: Smithsonian Libraries and Archives / Internet Archive

Available to buy as a print.

https://pdimagearchive.org/images/f69d03ba-c0f4-48cf-ad88-7ccd2dae3292

#cephalopods #zoology #octopuses #chromolithography #art #publicdomain

Gemma does Hubrecht at the Lyceum:
https://chasmosaurs.com/2025/10/14/vintage-dinosaur-art-hubrecht-at-the-lyceum-part-3/

Featuring wonderful carboniferous creatures, beautifully painted.

#fish
#crinoids
#cephalopods
#amphibians

Did you know? 🌟 Octopuses boast 3 hearts and blue blood (copper haemocyanin), optimized for cold, oxygen-scarce marine realms. Two hearts serve gills; one systemic heart supports complex physiology + 9 neural centres (‘brains’)! At #FACTOVATE, we uncover such zoological marvels. #FACTOVATE #Cephalopods #MarineBiology #AnimalAdaptation

https://factovate.com/why-does-an-octopus-have-3-hearts-and-blue-blood

🐙🧠 Scientists at the University of #Bristol adapted the famous marshmallow test for cuttlefish and found these marine #animals can delay gratification for up to 130 seconds to get better #food.

The study shows cuttlefish possess self-control and #learning abilities comparable to #primates and #birds, suggesting these cognitive skills evolved to help them survive as vulnerable predators in #ocean environments.

👉 https://www.sciencealert.com/cephalopods-passed-a-cognitive-test-intended-for-human-children

#psychology #science #research #cephalopods #behavior #evolution

Multi-armed multitasker...

Octopus arms are adaptable but some are favored for particular jobs

The cephalopods don't use every limb in the same manner, something they share with primates

#octopus #cephalopods #arms

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/octopus-arms-favored

And did you know they can REGENERATE lost arms and even solve puzzles? 🔍 These cephalopods are some of the most fascinating creatures in the ocean—combining insane biology with unmatched intelligence. Mind = blown! 🤯

#OctopusFacts #MarineLife #NatureWonders #Cephalopods #OceanMagical #WildlifeWonders (2/2)

The same mimic got bored/annoyed with the group of 4 divers and tucked into a hole. After the rest of the group moved off a bit, my 8 legged buddy came out to see what I was up to.

As the name suggests, mimic octopuses are easy to confuse with the smaller wonderpus. One distinguishing feature is the way the skin between their arms forms a kind of webbing, a bit like the feet of a duck.

Sogod Bay #Philippines #Scuba #cephalopods

View of an octopus from above. "Webbing" is clearly visible between the arms on the top left. The body extends from the center left to the top center of the frame. Dominant colour scheme is still brown stripes, but white dots are visible within the contrasting lighter stripes. Only the parts of the arms closest to the head/body are visible.

Another mollusc repeat pattern for #inverteFest! This one is made with my linocut nautilus. Cephalopods, like octopuses and squid, the nautili grow their own shells and are known as “living fossils,” having survived relatively unchanged for millions of years.

#repeatPattern #sciart #nautilus #cephalopods #oceanLife #wildlifeArt #linocut #printmaking #spoonflower #mastoArt

As described this is a repeat pattern made with a random smattering of my linocut nautilus (and its reflection) in variable bronze-gold-purple ink on white, against a light teal background

Octopus farming is cruel, unsustainable, & dangerous. #Spain has the chance to stop it before it starts. Tell Spanish lawmakers to support the national ban on octopus farms! #StopOctopusFarming #Cephalopods bit.ly/3HqpdCA

Ban Octopus Farming in Spain t...

Ancient cephalopod, new insight: Nautilus reveals unexpected sex chromosome system https://phys.org/news/2025-08-ancient-cephalopod-insight-nautilus-reveals.html 🦑 #DeepSea #Cephalopoda #Cephalopods #Nautilis #Gender

Findings in #Hokkaido show #squid dominated the #ocean by 100mya. They’d previously been thought not to flourish until the #Palaeogene, 65mya.

https://phys.org/news/2025-06-ancient-squids-dominated-ocean-million.html #science #marine #biology #MarineBiology #paleogene #palaeontology #paleontology #cephalopods

#Cephalopods

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