Mad as a Marine Biologist

High-res rhamphotheca: ‘Giant Squid’ Are Indeed All One Species by Stephanie Pappas Though they roam the deep sea around the globe, enigmatic giant squid are all part of the same species, new research finds. The new study reveals that the genetic diversity of giant squid (Architeuthis) is remarkably low — far lower than that of other marine species examined, said study researcher Tom Gilbert of the University of Copenhagen. The findings suggest that the squid intermingle and mate across the globe. “The results are extremely surprising,” Gilbert told LiveScience. Giant squid are mysterious creatures. They dwell in the deep ocean, making them difficult to observe in their natural habitats. In fact, no one had observed a live giant squid in the wild until 2004. The first video of a live giant squid wasn’t released until this year. The animals appear to grow as long as 60 ft (18 m) and are carnivores that prey on fish and other squid… (read more: Live Science)                     (photo: Mark Norman)

rhamphotheca:

‘Giant Squid’ Are Indeed All One Species

by Stephanie Pappas

Though they roam the deep sea around the globe, enigmatic giant squid are all part of the same species, new research finds.

The new study reveals that the genetic diversity of giant squid (Architeuthis) is remarkably low — far lower than that of other marine species examined, said study researcher Tom Gilbert of the University of Copenhagen. The findings suggest that the squid intermingle and mate across the globe.

“The results are extremely surprising,” Gilbert told LiveScience.

Giant squid are mysterious creatures. They dwell in the deep ocean, making them difficult to observe in their natural habitats. In fact, no one had observed a live giant squid in the wild until 2004. The first video of a live giant squid wasn’t released until this year. The animals appear to grow as long as 60 ft (18 m) and are carnivores that prey on fish and other squid…

(read more: Live Science)                     (photo: Mark Norman)

High-res The greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) by Samantha Craven Only my second encounter with this tiniest of terrors. The three species of blue ringed octopus contain venom so potent that it contains all these words:  tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine,taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine (Source). The venom is produced by bacteria in the salivary gland and happily there is no cure. So after you’ve been bitten, when you stop breathing and your hear stops beating, you better hope that your friends are good enough to manually respirate you until you get to hospital and/or metabolize all those words out. There is always the fact that you need never touch one. Or poke it.  

The greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) by Samantha Craven

Only my second encounter with this tiniest of terrors. The three species of blue ringed octopus contain venom so potent that it contains all these words:  tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine,taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine (Source).

The venom is produced by bacteria in the salivary gland and happily there is no cure. So after you’ve been bitten, when you stop breathing and your hear stops beating, you better hope that your friends are good enough to manually respirate you until you get to hospital and/or metabolize all those words out.

There is always the fact that you need never touch one. Or poke it.  

High-res rhamphotheca: Scientists Discover Nerves Control Iridescence in Squid’s ‘Electric Skin’ by ScienceDaily staff (Aug. 27, 2012)  Squid’s colorful, changeable skin enables the animal — and their close relatives, cuttlefish and octopus — to display extraordinary camouflage, the speed and diversity of which is unmatched in the animal kingdom. But how squid control their skin’s iridescence, or light-reflecting property, which is responsible for the animal’s sparkly rainbow of color, has been unknown. In a new study, MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) researchers Paloma Gonzalez Bellido and Trevor Wardill and their colleagues report that nerves in squid skin control the animal’s spectrum of shimmering hues — from red to blue — as well as their speed of change. The work marks the first time neural control of iridescence in an invertebrate species has been demonstrated. Squid skin is extraordinary because it has two ways to produce color and pattern… (read more: Science Daily)  (photo: Wardill, Gonzalez-Bellido, Crook & Hanlon, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)

rhamphotheca:

Scientists Discover Nerves Control Iridescence in Squid’s ‘Electric Skin’

by ScienceDaily staff (Aug. 27, 2012) 

Squid’s colorful, changeable skin enables the animal — and their close relatives, cuttlefish and octopus — to display extraordinary camouflage, the speed and diversity of which is unmatched in the animal kingdom.

But how squid control their skin’s iridescence, or light-reflecting property, which is responsible for the animal’s sparkly rainbow of color, has been unknown.

In a new study, MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) researchers Paloma Gonzalez Bellido and Trevor Wardill and their colleagues report that nerves in squid skin control the animal’s spectrum of shimmering hues — from red to blue — as well as their speed of change. The work marks the first time neural control of iridescence in an invertebrate species has been demonstrated.

Squid skin is extraordinary because it has two ways to produce color and pattern…

(read more: Science Daily) 

(photo: Wardill, Gonzalez-Bellido, Crook & Hanlon, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences)