Sylvia Earle's Haliphron encounter

[OB]

Not sure whether this was posted earlier, but this footage is too good not to repost, anyway :wink:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sw8zl5vrAu8

I really like how this footage shows (so much more clearly than any amount of trawled up goo ever could) how arm pairs number one and two really determine the hydrodynamic silouette of the species. The eyes are almost ventral like in Tremoctopus, another pelagic favourite of mine. This, combined with the striking difference in arm pair sizes (dorsal versus ventral) should give some important clues towards feeding behaviour. I am not very well versed in the latter when discussing pelagic species, so any comments here will be helpful.


PS: Great "triple funnel action" and eggmass...

[ckeiser]

It would seem that the pelagic octopods exhibiting arm webs could employ some blanket-capture methods for prey. Argonauta capture fish after tactile stimulation of the first arm web covering the "shell".

Another interesting tidbit; Jones (1963) suggested that Tremoctopus uses stolen nematocysts from cnidarians as weapons in hunting. Cool...

[OB]

Another interesting tidbit; Jones (1963) suggested that Tremoctopus uses stolen nematocysts from cnidarians as weapons in hunting. Cool...

True, albeit for the puny males. Please find pic of male holding nematocysts in its defence, courtesy of Pharyngula.