I spent this afternoon with Sarah at the NOC, cataloguing the cephalopods. Cephalopods include squids and octopodi, and are by far my favourite group of organisms.There is such a wide variety of physical features, such as the unevenly sized eyes of cock-eyed squids and the photophores of the umbrella and firefly squids.
I don't think I've posted a photograph of the room yet- this is where all the specimens are stored.
The dots on this squid are photophores. They are light emitting organs and they give it its nickname, the jewel squid. Below is a photo of a live umbrella squid with the photophores lit up:
We found these little squids in a near-impossible to open tub. There were about 50 specimens in the tub altogether! When we handled them, they felt quite rubbery and odd.
This giant spider crab was contained in a tub with a 40cm diameter. Its leg span is therefore about 80cm. Huge.
These specimens are flying squid.
Another flying squid!
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