Well, this is a weird thing:

Handprint on Dosidicus Mantle (http://momentoffame.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9749)

I've heard of post-mortem chromatophore reactivity before, but what triggers it? Application of pressure, or do electrical fields play a part? It's queer that only the outline of the hand was traced and not the full silhouette, although the infill might have dissipated (chromatophores contracted) before the photo was taken.

Anyhow, a very strange thing, and an avatar just waiting to be made.

Cheers,
Clem

someone gave that thing a 5-star... owie

maybe some guy pushed down hard enough as to pull the muscle fibers around some chromatophores and artificially expanded them. or is that even possible?

excuse my ignorance, im just a high school student. :roll:

That's very strange. Resident squid expert, where are you?

(1) I have no idea what mechanism could cause that. But...

(2) If it were the result of pressure directly from the hand, then the whole thing should be red, not just the outline, so my guess is someone traced his/her hand post-mortem, with something that caused those chroms to expand. And...

(3) That's either a very small Dosi or a HUGE hand.

((2) If it were the result of pressure directly from the hand, then the whole thing should be red, not just the outline, so my guess is someone traced his/her hand post-mortem, with something that caused those chroms to expand.
Hello Kat,

Looking again I noticed that the skin creases marking the finger/palm junctions and a few of the joints were also reproduced, so something more than outline tracing seems to have happened. Judging by the other shots in the series the squid weren't terribly large, and were photographed shortly after being landed. Perhaps the "hand" squid wasn't quite dead when it was palmed?

As Stan Marsh would say: "I don't like it, it's spooky."

Cheers,
Clem

interesting find, as usual, Clem! Very strange... looks a little cartoony but not overtly so... does not compute.

I see what you mean - almost looks like a ring was worn on the pointer-finger. But if the impression were made directly by pressure from a hand, then I would have expected it to be skinnier (like the attached one (http://www.artcentermemphis.com/images/Handprint-x.jpg)) because the most pressure would come from the middle of the fingers, while almost none would be exerted by the edges, where we in fact see heavy red lines. Very weird. The outline is kind of cartoonish, almost like a hand-shaped cookie-cutter was pushed in to make the impression. I thought briefly that maybe a glove got frozen to the tissue, then removed, but then it should be solid red.
I notice that in the upper right of the squid image, there appears to be part of another outline that looks similar to the fingers of the main print.

There's another pic of the same squid here (http://momentoffame.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/9754/size/big/cat/500/page/1).

:hmm:

Ive been around a fair few "5 stars" in my time at school, and one on a camping trip (that incedintally I was responsible for :grin: ) turned out exactly like the picture, with only the outline visible.
We all commented on how weird it was that it wasnt coloured in, but the only thing I could say about the technique used - it was as hard as I could smack.

I wouldnt have a clue why this happens, but then again it wasnt really the mechanics of five star reactions that I was interested in, just the result.
:grin:

What bothers me about this picture is the large brown object behind the squid... It appears in some of the other photos too. I really hope it is not what I think it might be... a sea lion body. I have worked with quite a few sea lions in my time and it looks awfully familiar. Maybe it is a large brown squid??? A large brown fish, their dog?

What bothers me about this picture is the large brown object behind the squid...
Hello Cuttlegirl,

Ah, I see it. In one pic it appears prostrate between a standing man's legs, in two others it looks more vertical? Looks like Rintintinoteuthis to me.:wink:

Alright, I'm ignorant. What exactly is a "five star?"

Cheers,
Clem

Oh, its a full handed "slap" on an exposed part of skin, usually on the back. I suppose its not too disimmilar to the cliche wet towel in the locker room prank.
http://1stvamp.org/pics/darren_slap.jpg


Here's a good picture of one where the outline is quite a bit more visible, like the squid one.......................
http://www.rpi.edu/~curlep/slap.jpg

Oh, its a full handed "slap" on an exposed part of skin, usually on the back. I suppose its not too disimmilar to the cliche wet towel in the locker room prank.


An extremely well broken-in weight belt could be considered a similar prank.... not that i would know about such juvenile things....

FYI: grab the belt by the metal and let it almost completely unfold before snapping back - I'm mean such silliness, what is wrong with these kids?

personally, i think feeler's pic might be something akin to the pink belly genus of tortures, thereby making it gastopod and not worth our time! :)

If anyone is wondering: Yes, I have an older brother.

Maybe this is actually the world famous Turin Squid? A forgery by Leonardo Da Vinci, I'm sure :grin:

What bothers me about this picture is the large brown object behind the squid... It appears in some of the other photos too. I really hope it is not what I think it might be... a sea lion body. I have worked with quite a few sea lions in my time and it looks awfully familiar. Maybe it is a large brown squid??? A large brown fish, their dog?

I'm not sure what you refer to, there's a bit of table visible behind the squid and a fisherman's apron behind that, I fail to see the sea lion :confused:

EDIT: I think I get what you're referring to. In one of the pictures it looks like a squid is dangling out of it (see attached), giving rise to the speculation it might in fact be a sealion coloured bag...

Originally posted by Ob giving rise to the speculation it might in fact be a sealion coloured bag...

I feel better now, whew...

What still worries me though, is, do these people actually eat all that squid, or just enjoy killing it? Squid can be great eating, but really only when prepared immediately following the moment of death (http://www.eatdangerously.com/fried_calamari.html): give it a day or so and the old rubber tyre syndrome sets in...

personally, i think feeler's pic might be something akin to the pink belly genus of tortures, thereby making it gastopod and not worth our time! :)

:lol:


Kirlian photography using dead squid?