about this 'octosquid' business
some days i can hype up squid like nobody's business. some days, though, i have to be a party-pooper and debunk some squid myths. today is one of those days. since i happen (through pure coincidence... i swear... ) to be on the site of the action, i will report to you what i have learned from the resident expert, tree of life squid content contributor dick young.
some alert readers (hi, multiple levels! hi, shortnamed! hi, shmemil!) have emailed me, asking about the 'octosquid' found in hawaii last week. (see this, this, or this online story.) summary: on the hawaiian coast, a small reddish cephalopod was sucked up through a pipe from about 3000 ft and found live in a filter. this cephalopod appeared to be a squid, but only had 8 arms (no tentacles), so someone who knew that squid were supposed to have tentacles called it the 'octosquid.' and the press ran with it. as it turned out though, it was a 'normal' squid but the tentacles had been broken off during the trip up the pipe or in the filter, which is a common injury in captured squid. in some of the photos, you can see the two white tentacle stumps near the bases of the arms (specifically between arms III and IV, the bottom two arm pairs) - that's where they broke off. so, this is not a missing link between octopus and squid.
but before you get too disappointed, there are some cool things about it - it's a new species (which means it hasn't been named yet, not that it evolved recently). it belongs to the genus Mastigoteuthis and was originally believed to be the same as M. atlantica, but the pacific specimens (of which there are 20-30 in collections) are now recognized as something separate, so far called only 'Mastigoteuthis species A.' this is also the first time this animal has ever been seen/photographed alive, and since squid look very different dead, this gives some insight into its natural behaviors and coloration. not that swimming around in a tank in your death throes is natural behavior - but it's more than had ever been observed before.
RIP 'octosquid,' but welcome M. sp. A! and yes, i got to have a look at the specimen - it's in the office where i've been working this week. :)
