Portobello Diary

Junior was released yesterday, the tank was much too small and she was showing signs that she wasn't too happy (including biting me! Just a wee nip, but I got the point!!! :biggrin2:)

But we have a new "big" octopus! Meet Ethan (who is named for our senior aquarists nephew!). He's been hidden in the rock work since we got him a couple of weeks ago, but today he was out and about, still quite small60 - 70 cm arm spread (at full stretch).
 

Attachments

  • conv_297572.jpg
    conv_297572.jpg
    4.5 MB · Views: 128
  • conv_297573.jpg
    conv_297573.jpg
    4.7 MB · Views: 119
Clever Kids!

Had a tour today with a lovely family, 2 very bright kids, the older one (about 7 or 8) was a girl after my own heart, Cephalopod mad!

Anyway we were in the teaching lab where I had a few specimens out including a preserved Todarodes filippovae when she comes out with, "this isn't a cranchid is it?" Me "No it's an ommastrephid" her "but the Colossal squid is a cranchid, right?" Me "right" ..........Mum "she reads alot! " :shock: gotta love these kids!!!!

J
 
Forgot to post this! In November 2010 the NZ Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium won the Otago Business Round Table Ethics Award and was a finalist in the research and innovation award! We were so excited!

"The New Zealand Marine Studies Centre were announced the winners of the Ethics category of the 2010 Otago Business Excellence Awards (OBIZ). They were also finalists in the Research and Innovation category. Finalists for the OBIZ awards were short listed from a robust number of entrants with over 81 businesses confirmed across 101 category entries. The OBIZ award winners were announced at the Town Hall on Friday 26th November.

Sally Carson, Director of the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre, said: "How we intact with each other, our visitors and the community is critical to the success of the NZMSC. Equally important though is how we interact with the environment and look after the animals in our care."

Gary Wilson, Head of the University of Otago's Marine Science Department, who accepted the award with Sally Carson, commented: "I'm very proud of my team out there, they are top notch and this is a well deserved recognition of the programme and the care and attention with which they deliver it every day of the year." "
 
Yikes, didn't realise how long it had been since I wrote in here! We have one Pinnoctopus cordiformis at the moment. His name is (wait for it!!!!) Leggy Lloyd the Limbre!!!! I will post pictures as soon as I can!

We also got 100% in our Qualmark (a quality assurance assessor!) assessment and thus have an envirogold rating!!!!!!!!! As well as a top qualmark for tourism!
 
Jean's Pinnoctopus cordiformis is the genus and species name for New Zealand's answer to our (US and Canada) Enteroctopus dofleini (aka GPO, Giant Pacific Octopus). In otherwords Octopus is no longer the only genus (but is the largest) for octopuses :roll:. It would be interesting to find a current list of genera. Off the top of my head we commonly see references to:

Abdopus aculeatus
Amphioctopus marginatus (coconut octopus)
Enteroctopus Dofleini (GPO)
Hapalochlaena unulata (blue ring)
Pinnoctopus cordiformis (common name Jean?)
Thaumoctopus mimicus (mimic)
Wunderpus photogenicus (wunderpus)

But the numbers are growing as the animals are classified/reclassified. From a layman's perspective, I wish they had kept octopus in the new names or better yet started them all with atleast Octo...

Then we get "complexes" like vulgaris and macropus that have not found a proper home yet. I am not sure what constitues a complex or how it is punctuated but some kind of relationship has been identified for a cluster of animals in the same genus. Once identified, sometimes a complex becomes a genus (which will not be good for macropus because you will see a lot of kangaroos when you seach it :wink:)

Enlightenment on my layman's trivia is welcomed :biggrin2:
 

Similar threads

Nancy
merging experiement
Replies
1
Views
1K
Nancy
Nancy
Nancy
  • Sticky
Lists of Our Octopuses 2003 - 2013
Replies
7
Views
5K
DWhatley
DWhatley

Shop Amazon

Shop Amazon
Shop Amazon; support TONMO!
Shop Amazon
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Back
Top