Flitting Through the Internet

Octopus and Mr. Potato Head

From the BBC news:

Mr Potato Head makes octopus pal                                                                       

The Giant Pacific octopus is the world's largest octopus species

A giant Pacific octopus living in a Cornish aquarium has formed an unlikely bond with a child's plastic toy.

Louis regularly plays with the Mr Potato Head figure which was given to him as part of an enrichment project at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium.

"We wanted an octopus-friendly toy which had a compartment to hide food in," said the aquarium's Matt Slater.

He says Louis gets very excited when sees the toy, which he plays with for an hour at a time.

"Its bright colours, strange shape and moveable parts make it fascinating for Louis," said Mr Slater.

"The secret space within Mr Potato Head allows us to hide tasty treats like fresh crab inside and that perhaps more than anything has resulted in him becoming such a hit."

In the past, keepers have used everything from perspex boxes to rubber toys and even fishing floats to keep Louis, who came from Vancouver about nine months ago, mentally active.

The giant Pacific octopus is the world's largest species of octopus and are found from Japan to Southern California.

The biggest recorded specimen had a span of 10m (33ft) and weighed 270kgs (600lbs).

Louis, who is 18 months old, stretches about 1.5m from tip to tip.

As well as being the largest, the giant Pacifics are also among the cleverest members of the cephalopod family.

"Louis is well known for his curiosity and intelligence," said Mr Slater.

"We've devised a series of puzzles, games and toys to ensure he's getting the mental stimulation he needs, but Mr Potato Head is definitely his favourite at the moment."

[Hat tip to Neatorama]

Crabzilla!...

...Queen of the Deep! - here at Deep Sea News.

Octopod Teeth

At Deep Sea News (with interesting pictures):

...What you see is the oral view of the brachial and buccal crown. The supposed teeth are papillae on the lips of the buccal mass common in cephalopods...

Oops!  Reading further, it's not an octopus:

...it is oegopsid squid and thus decapodiforme.

Harvesting Timber Underwater

Deep Sea News post about a robot that harvests timber underwater.

Undersea Dining, and Deep-Sea Turtles

No, they're not dining on the turtles (I hope!).

Deep Sea News has a post on the world's first all glass undersea restaurant (you should really check out the picture) and a post on deep-sea-diving leatherback turtles.

"My man doesn't eat turtle eggs"...

...says Argentine, supermodel Dorismar in an ad campaign to encourage men not to eat sea turtle eggs (they're considered an aphrodisiac).*  Sea turtle advocates are also getting people to join in a letter writing campaign to the Pope to encourage him to remind Catholics that sea turtles aren't fish.  Sea turtles are a Lenten delicacy in parts of South America.  Read more from Deep Sea News.

*The ad campaign has come under fire for being sexist.

Various posts from Deep Sea News

• Link to Giant Squid Found, Says Mankind are "The Worst Seekers Ever." (at TheSpoof.com)
• Beautiful iceberg photo.
• Gorton's Law:

In the tradition of Internet adages, I'd like to add another. In any discussion of sea life, no matter how rare, strange or disgusting, some knucklehead will always ask how well it goes with lemon or butter. I am calling this Gorton's Law (read the rest here).

• Neat new blog from the previous entry - Cephalopodcast.com.