Cephalopods, Old and New

PZ Myers at Pharyngula discusses some spectacularly preserved 95 million year old fossil octupuses from Lebanon. Although superficially similar to modern octopuses in external appearance (8 tentacles and all that stuff) the structure of the their gladius (the remnant of the molluscan shell) is intermediate between older cephalopods and modern octopuses.


Ed Yong at Not Exactly Rocket Science discusses what the stomach contents of Sperm Whales can tell us about large deep-sea squid (including Giant Squid) and octupuses. ¹³C to ¹²C isotope ratios in the undigested squid/octopus beaks tell you about the depth at which the animals live, while ¹⁵N to ¹⁴N ratios tell you its position on the food chain.

[Image of scientists examining whale stomach contents from a whale that stranded itself come from Karen Evans's web page.]