Half-Squid, Half-Octopus Discovered Off of Hawaii 170
Otter writes "A unique creature that's been dubbed an 'octosquid' with eight arms and a squid-like mantle, was discovered off Hawaii. The creature, of a previously unknown species, was trapped in the net covering a 3,000 foot-deep intake tube for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. From the article: 'The octosquid was pulled to the surface, along with three rattail fish and half a dozen satellite jellyfish, and stayed alive for three days. According to War, the lab usually checks its filters once a month, but this time, it put a plankton net in one of the filters and checked it two weeks later. The pitch-black conditions at 3,000 feet below sea level are unfamiliar to most but riveting to scientists who have had the opportunity to submerge. The sea floor is full of loose sediment, big boulders and rocks, and a lot of mucuslike things floating in the water, which are usually specimens that died at the surface and drifted to the bottom.'"
Taningia danae (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh and hey Otter [slashdot.org]! What's up dude? I actually had no idea these guys were in Kona. Had that been known, I would have visited last time I was there [utah.edu].
Title is wrong (Score:5, Interesting)
Squids and octopuses are far too far apart to breed.
They have also discovered an "animal" (Score:1, Interesting)
"We have one starfish-like creature that we can't even get the phylum (a primary division in the animal kingdom)," he said. "We've just labeled it 'animal.'"
Died? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Title is wrong (Score:4, Interesting)
They do not weave webs, that I am aware of, and the particular species that infests my house do not chirp. Furthermore, they move very differently from most large spiders - they rarely move more than a foot without hopping at least some, and they can hop about two feet maximum. In a somewhat interesting(in an evolutionary sense) instinct, they often hop towards motion, which combined with their tendency to lie completely still afterward, presumably throws off cave predators better than hopping away.