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Half-Squid, Half-Octopus Discovered Off of Hawaii

Otter writes "A unique creature that's been dubbed an 'octosquid' with eight arms and a squid-like mantle, was discovered off Hawaii. The creature, of a previously unknown species, was trapped in the net covering a 3,000 foot-deep intake tube for the Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority. From the article: 'The octosquid was pulled to the surface, along with three rattail fish and half a dozen satellite jellyfish, and stayed alive for three days. According to War, the lab usually checks its filters once a month, but this time, it put a plankton net in one of the filters and checked it two weeks later. The pitch-black conditions at 3,000 feet below sea level are unfamiliar to most but riveting to scientists who have had the opportunity to submerge. The sea floor is full of loose sediment, big boulders and rocks, and a lot of mucuslike things floating in the water, which are usually specimens that died at the surface and drifted to the bottom.'"

170 comments

  1. Half squid, half octopus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    All delicious!

    1. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 2, Funny

      DNA analysis reveals it's an ocean-going descendent of the ManBearPig genus. Scientists are afraid to speculate what it tastes like, but Wal-Mart shoppers probably will know that soon.

    2. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Evanisincontrol · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's garbage. People who shop at Wal-Mart can't afford sea food.

    3. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Walt+Dismal · · Score: 5, Funny

      It won't be *labeled* as seafood...

    4. Re:Half squid, half octopus by MSTCrow5429 · · Score: 1

      I think you'd be surprised at who shops at Wal-Mart...even massively wealthy John Edwards has been known to seek their wares. In any case, I wonder if it will taste more like calamari, or octopus.

      --
      Slashdot: Playing Favorites Since 1997
    5. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 2, Funny

      Either way, I won't mess with one. I hear that they are armed to the teeth.

    6. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Thrip · · Score: 5, Funny

      I hear that they are armed to the teeth. Worse than that: they're toothed to the arm.
      --
      I'm awake! The answer is BONK!
    7. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Is0m0rph · · Score: 1

      Tempura or Teriyaki style is the real question.

    8. Re:Half squid, half octopus by LuNa7ic · · Score: 2, Funny

      *blah blah* Octosquid Overlords *blah blah*

      --
      *runs*
    9. Re:Half squid, half octopus by AmiAthena · · Score: 1

      Bad day to have no mod points. Bravo!

    10. Re:Half squid, half octopus by ascendant · · Score: 1

      So apparently Wal*Mart already knows whether or not it will blend.

      --
      Do not attribute to malice that which can be easily explained by incompetence.
    11. Re:Half squid, half octopus by ultranova · · Score: 2, Funny

      In any case, I wonder if it will taste more like calamari, or octopus.

      What I want to know is: when it was caught, did it shout "It's a trap!" ?

      --

      Forget magic. Any technology distinguishable from divine power is insufficiently advanced.

    12. Re:Half squid, half octopus by Aliriza · · Score: 1

      Take this out of my sight , I don't want to discover it - I want to forget it.

    13. Re:Half squid, half octopus by smparadox · · Score: 1

      Tempura or Teriyaki style is the real question.

      Tempura or Teriyaki style Ding-Dongs on Air Force One?
      --
      "I am become Gerund, Destroyer of Verbs"
    14. Re:Half squid, half octopus by poopdeville · · Score: 1

      Tempura.

      NEXT!

      --
      After all, I am strangely colored.
  2. Taningia danae by BWJones · · Score: 5, Interesting

    There have been 8 armed squid described before including the Taningia danae species by the same scientists, though our understanding of these animals is poor at best. Though I have to say I am puzzled as to why the Octosquid was assigned to the Mastigoteuthidae genus other than it seems to be a catchall genus for weird squid species that we do not know much about...

    Oh and hey Otter! What's up dude? I actually had no idea these guys were in Kona. Had that been known, I would have visited last time I was there.

    --
    Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
    1. Re:Taningia danae by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 1

      You probably flew right by them, probably even saw them and wondered what the buildings were. They are right next to the airport, between it and the ocean. Besides the airport, ain't nothing else around for miles except a sea of black lava. They aren't really a tourist destination though, I don't think they offer tours to the general public.

      --
      When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    2. Re:Taningia danae by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Kinda funny how Utah colleges have biology departments. Doesn't that kinda require them to use ... I don't know ... theory of evolution?

    3. Re:Taningia danae by Evanisincontrol · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      I swear I just heard a weird sound in the room. If I had to put it into words, I'd say it sounded like a "Zing!"

    4. Re:Taningia danae by ColdWetDog · · Score: 1
      "Lived for three days"... right.

      "Oops. Dropped that scalpel on it. Guess I'll have to finish the dissection."

      --
      Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
    5. Re:Taningia danae by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why? Biology is a hard science. When the theory of evolution actually includes mathematical equations that can be used to come to a conclusion or predict the outcome of an experiment, then you might just have that "zing" you were looking for.

      BTW, evolution _is_ taught in Utah classrooms. It's the history of polygamy that's eschewed in our schools.

    6. Re:Taningia danae by iknownuttin · · Score: 1
      There have been 8 armed squid...

      Were they dangerous, too?

      I don't know what it would do to the ecosystem if we had armed and dangerous squids running around.

      --
      I prefer Flambe as apposed flamebait.
    7. Re:Taningia danae by Kesha · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Hi Bryan,

      Were you and James able to make the changes you wanted to ir-tweak? I haven't heard anything back since you asked Tolga for OSX build instructions.

              Paul.

    8. Re:Taningia danae by BWJones · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Heeeeey dude. How goes life with the real world?

      We have not tried to make changes as James wife had a baby, and he's been out, Tolga is in Istanbul and Ross is somewhere in Germany. I've been in England, then Colorado for the last couple of weeks and Robert will be in Montana for a while. You up for sushi some time? email me with your schedule if possible and we'll talk. You should also come by for a tour of the new $750k microscope that took a month to install...

      Bryan

      --
      Visit Jonesblog and say hello.
  3. Poke? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Hawaiians will understand.

  4. Re:Octosquid is here by TheMeuge · · Score: 5, Funny

    Now that octosquid is here, could the OctoParrot be far behind?

  5. Natural by Joebert · · Score: 3, Funny

    It all looks the same in the dark.

    --
    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
  6. We need patent reform! by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 3, Funny

    That way, scientists will be able to patent valuable genes in our half-squid/half-octopus brethern, as opposed to killing them to protect their trade secrets

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  7. Stupid Name by Seumas · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They have been calling it an OctoSquid. I have to say, I dislike that. I would prefer that they call it a Squidopus!

    Also, it looks a lot like a weird Japanese sex toy.

    1. Re:Stupid Name by superpulpsicle · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It needs about 30 more tentacles to count as Japanese sex toys.

    2. Re:Stupid Name by geekdoc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I like SQUOCTOPUS!

    3. Re:Stupid Name by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 4, Funny

      They should call it Cmdr Tako

    4. Re:Stupid Name by drekhan · · Score: 3, Funny

      "a weird Japanese sex toy." This statement implies that are normal Japanese sex toys, which as far as I can tell, isn't the case.

    5. Re:Stupid Name by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I was going to suggest squoctopus too. :D

  8. OMG! An old one! by cfortin · · Score: 3, Funny

    IE! IE! Microsoft fthagn!

  9. Damnit by Vulva+R.+Thompson,+P · · Score: 4, Funny

    Kids left the gate open again.

  10. Like my grandpa used to say by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    those squid will fuck anything that moves

  11. It moved! by Jerry+Rivers · · Score: 1

    Quick! Poke it with a stick!

    --
    The pursuit of absolute tolerance leads to the most rigorous and ludicrous intolerance. - REX MURPHY
  12. mine by pablo_max · · Score: 1

    oops.

  13. You just know trhat they wanted by geekoid · · Score: 1

    to call it the 'Squidpus'

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  14. But.... by rune2 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Does it have frickin' lasers?

    1. Re:But.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wrong sea creature fucknut.

    2. Re:But.... by Tatisimo · · Score: 1

      Pistol shrimp are about as close as you'll get to laser wielding sea creatures. Video here

      --
      Give Kashyyyk back to the Wookies
  15. Woo! I love it! by erroneus · · Score: 5, Funny

    Inter-species tentacle porn!!!

  16. Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish by Threni · · Score: 4, Informative

    Captain Beefheart could not be reached for comment.

    1. Re:Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish by Ikester8 · · Score: 1

      Man, do I wish I had some mod points!

      --
      That's the last time I run code posted in somebody's sig...
    2. Re:Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish by vogonity · · Score: 1

      The Captain has nade it known through his representatives that this animal is Fast And Bulbous. It is unknown at this time whether is also a Tin Teardrop.

  17. Re:Obligitory Simpson Jokes by cstdenis · · Score: 0

    You bet, I was about to post one.

    --
    1984 was not supposed to be an instruction manual.
  18. Title is wrong by ucblockhead · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This is not "half squid, half octopus". This is a squid with eight arms that is no more related to octopuses than any other sort of squid.

    Squids and octopuses are far too far apart to breed.

    --
    The cake is a pie
    1. Re:Title is wrong by lawpoop · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I haven't RTFA, but they could be saying that it's one of those creatures from a lineage 'in between' squids and octopuses. Not that it's a descendant of a squid/octopus mating, but rather is a descendant from a common ancestor of squids and octopuses, one that happens to look like an octopus/squid mash-up.

      --
      Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.
      -- Pablo Picasso
    2. Re:Title is wrong by TheRealMindChild · · Score: 1

      You'd think that, but let me tell you a little story. I grew up in Herndon, VA, and the sewer/drain tunnels are like what you see in a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie... large enough to walk through. They had these spiders (they wove webs, so that is what I classify them as), but they had cricket legs! CRICKET LEGS! And they chirped! To this day, I have found no reference to them, let alone an explanation of how they exist. But to prove to the non believers, I have a few petrified in a jar, complete with a web they spun before dying.

      --

      "When life gives you lemons, don't make lemonade. Make life take the lemons back!" -- Cave Johnson
    3. Re:Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Pics or it didn't happen!

    4. Re:Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Informative
    5. Re:Title is wrong by Worthless_Comments · · Score: 1

      Holy shit, I've seen those things too, and no one would actually believe me till they saw it.

      Anyway, always wondered what the hell they were.

    6. Re:Title is wrong by pragma_x · · Score: 2, Informative

      I grew up in NoVA myself. What you saw were probably cave crickets:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cave_cricket

      They love drainpipes, sheds and dark basements. They are quite spider-like and get rather big and nasty looking. But there's no way they wove webs - those were probably left by nursery-web spiders, or something else of similar size and morphology to those cave crickets.

      Could be worse though. Thankfully, you'll never see ones like these in your mom's basement:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel_spider

    7. Re:Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sounds like a camelback cricket. First several results on google for Spider + Cricket

    8. Re:Title is wrong by Creedo · · Score: 1

      I've seen them all over mid-Kansas, which makes me wonder what cave-like structure they may be breeding in. My son caught one not a week ago, in fact.

      --
      All that is necessary for the triumph of good is that evil men do nothing.
    9. Re:Title is wrong by Squalish · · Score: 3, Interesting

      That appears to be a cave cricket, family Rhaphidophoridae.

      They do not weave webs, that I am aware of, and the particular species that infests my house do not chirp. Furthermore, they move very differently from most large spiders - they rarely move more than a foot without hopping at least some, and they can hop about two feet maximum. In a somewhat interesting(in an evolutionary sense) instinct, they often hop towards motion, which combined with their tendency to lie completely still afterward, presumably throws off cave predators better than hopping away.

      --
      People in Soviet Russia, however, appear to be afflicted with amusing juxtapositions of the aforementioned situation
    10. Re:Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wa. Wa. Waaaahhhhhhhhh.

    11. Re:Title is wrong by vuffi_raa · · Score: 1

      one that happens to look like an octopus/squid mash-up. I like the squid/justin timberlake-mashup better
    12. Re:Title is wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      >>r human n dog 2 far apart 2 breed? cuz I saw sum pix on the net. lol.

      1) Stop looking at your family album online, or at least stop telling us about it 2) Rover might hump your leg, but that DOESN'T mean she's interested in you in *that* way.
    13. Re:Title is wrong by ucblockhead · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Perhaps you should have read the fucking article, because the fucking article says it is a squid. Hence my comment.

      I usually feel it best to read the fucking article before commenting on the fucking article, so I don't look like an ignorant retard.

      --
      The cake is a pie
    14. Re:Title is wrong by ucblockhead · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Huh. Apparently pointing out that one should read what the article says before making claims about what the authors mean is a "troll", while speaking through ignorance is not. Yay slashdot, website of people who don't bother to find out.

      --
      The cake is a pie
  19. Someone must say it by xevioso · · Score: 0, Redundant

    I, for one, welcome our new Octosquid overlords.

  20. Oh, dear. by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 5, Funny

    As someone with a deathly fear of squid *and* octopus I have to say that it really feels like Satan and Mother Nature have decided to tag-team together in an all-out effort to make my darkest nightmares become incarnate. Next week they'll find a jellysquidfishapus and I'll end up like one of those H.P. Lovecraft characters who sees the most horrible thing possible and just dies on the spot.

    I'll miss you guys.

    1. Re:Oh, dear. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      A deathly fear of squid and octopus?

      Well, I hate to mention this, but if you're serious, don't look up Vampyroteuthis infernalis . Like this one from Hawaii, which looks somewhat similar, it is a deep red color and lives in the deep sea. Vampyroteuthis is also known as the "vampire squid", it shares traits of both squid and octopods (another similarity), and its body is (wait for it) described as having "the consistency of a jellyfish". So, it sounds rather close to the "jellysquidfishapus" you imagine in your nightmares. Sorry. It looks like it exists already. If it's any consolation, it's small (max. 13cm long).

    2. Re:Oh, dear. by dbcad7 · · Score: 1
      If your lucky you die on the spot... most people go insane... but thank Cthulu it's never happened to me.

      Fear not, the capture and killing of a young yogsoth is all part of the great old ones plan.

      --
      waiting for ad.doubleclick.net
    3. Re:Oh, dear. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      My favorite part from the Discovery Channel's Planet Earth series is when they show one of those things, and the narrator calls it the "vampire squid.....from hell." (And yes, I know that's what the scientific name means.)

    4. Re:Oh, dear. by The+Ultimate+Fartkno · · Score: 5, Funny

      *thud*

    5. Re:Oh, dear. by greylion3 · · Score: 1

      13 cm long? ... so, don't go skinny-dipping where these guys live. *shudders*

      --
      Privacy begins with ..
    6. Re:Oh, dear. by MadMidnightBomber · · Score: 4, Funny

      "He wouldn't stop and write 'thud', would he?"
      "Maybe he was dictating?"
      "Oh, shut up."

      --
      "It doesn't cost enough, and it makes too much sense."
    7. Re:Oh, dear. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh, darn.

      Well, for any of you others who have a case of cephalopodophobia (I made that up) but are still alive, here's a youtube video of the "vampire squid FROM HELL" (I did not make that up).

      Ah, nature and her strange creatures. Beautiful or horrifying. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

    8. Re:Oh, dear. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Considering their normal depth, being naked in the water there might cause you other minor problems, such as imploding due to the pressure.

    9. Re:Oh, dear. by argStyopa · · Score: 4, Funny

      This is drifting off topic, but I looked up that intriguingly-named creature.

      The wiki says it was discovered by "German teuthologist Carl Chun"

      "teuthologist Carl Chun"?

      It took the anagram server about 0.1 seconds to come up with 'Cthulhu great colonist' from that one. So you might want to take those nightmares a little more seriously, mate.

      (That or Cthulhu Scrotal Toeing which hints at truly blasphemous levels of hentai...)

      --
      -Styopa
  21. Who cares how it came to be... by nobodyman · · Score: 2, Funny

    I just wanna know, how does it taste!? I can't wait to try me some octomari!! Or is it calapus?

  22. Re:Obligitory Simpson Jokes by Tatisimo · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    I almost choked as I rushed to click on the article hoping to be the first to post this. No fair! :(

    --
    Give Kashyyyk back to the Wookies
  23. Plan 10! by suv4x4 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Greetings, my friend. We are all interested in biological life, for that is how you and I are going to spend the rest of our lives. And remember my friend, biological creatures such as these will affect you as a creature.

    You are interested in the unknown... the mysterious. The unexplainable. That is why you are here. And now, for the first time, we are bringing to you, the full story of what happened on that fateful day. We are bringing you all the evidence, based only on the secret testimony, of the miserable souls, who survived this terrifying ordeal.

    The incidents, the places. My friend, we cannot keep this a secret any longer. Let us punish the guilty. Let us reward the innocent. My friend, can your heart stand the shocking facts of octosquids from the deep ocean?

  24. Another photo by FleaPlus · · Score: 5, Informative

    Here's another article with a more close-up photo. Does anybody else hear a slithering voice saying "The Stars Are Right" when you look into its ever-so-hypnotic eye?

    1. Re:Another photo by vuffi_raa · · Score: 1

      it says-
      "A squid-like creature, rescued from a Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaii Authority deep water pipe filter, swims in a fish tank Wednesday at the facility"

      from what I understand from the article there wasn't a lot of "rescuing" going on since they brought it up from the depths and it died a couple of days later, if they were really rescuing it they would have put it back in the water.....

  25. Holy Shit! by GuyMannDude · · Score: 3, Funny

    This has got to be the worst nightmare of every sexy, busty teenage green- or pink-haired schoolgirl, ninja, and swordswoman in Japan!

    GMD

    1. Re:Holy Shit! by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      This has got to be the worst nightmare of every sexy, busty teenage green- or pink-haired schoolgirl, ninja, and swordswoman in Japan!

      GMD
      --
      Please stop with the "I know I'll be modded down for this..." crap I'm positive I'll be modded down for this, but I had to compliment you on your choice of sigs...
      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  26. half squid, half octopus... by spyrral · · Score: 1, Funny

    ALL COP!

  27. They have also discovered an "animal" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    From TFA,

    "We have one starfish-like creature that we can't even get the phylum (a primary division in the animal kingdom)," he said. "We've just labeled it 'animal.'"

  28. ...and It's red because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    TFA fails to explain a curious trait of deep-sea beasties like this. They're red because in very low light conditions, red appears black - good camouflage in an inky abyss. Red pigment is much easier for creatures to synthesize than black.

    1. Re:...and It's red because... by smoker2 · · Score: 1

      Not to detract from your point, but ...
      These creatures are red, because red light wavelengths don't penetrate to the bottom of the ocean, which means that these creatures appear black (black is after all, an absence of colour). The issue of synthesizing black pigment is irrelevant. Most creatures are transparent, and use photophors or bioluminescence to generate colour. Watch a David Attenborough program sometime (The Blue Planet Ep2 The Deep)
      Some predators even use red bioluminescence to illuminate red prey, as most sea creatures eyes can't even detect red light.

    2. Re:...and It's red because... by arth1 · · Score: 1

      At these kind of depths, white is black.

      That it's red indicates that it at least part of the time comes up to shallower depths where at least some sunlight penetrates. "Shallow" being a quite relative term, of course. :-)

    3. Re:...and It's red because... by RealGrouchy · · Score: 1

      Yes, and that's probably a contributing factor to it only lasting three days in the lab.

      The scientists should have left it in a completely black enclosure.

      Instead, they appear to have left it in a surface-lit environment, thereby blinding the octosquid--with science!

      - RG>

      --
      Hey pal, this isn't a pleasantforest, so don't waste my time with pleasantries!
    4. Re:...and It's red because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      TFA fails to explain a curious trait of deep-sea beasties like this. They're red because in very low light conditions, red appears black - good camouflage in an inky abyss. Red pigment is much easier for creatures to synthesize than black


      Most cephalopods can change colour in an instant. It is used as a complicated and beautiful means of communication. Their bodies are covered in chromophores that are tightly integrated into their nervous system. It really is incredible, they will oscillate waves of color, light and dark across their bodies in complicated patterns. This most often occurs in mating, fighting, feeding and fleeing.

      Knowing this almost makes me feel guilty when I enjoy grilled squid fillets (not deep fried rings). They are smart and beautiful animals, but dammit they are pretty tasty too!

      http://www.thecephalopodpage.org/
      http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/ (check the videos here, not sure which ones)
    5. Re:...and It's red because... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually here is an example of color change in mating:
      http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/viddb/vidsrch3.cfm?ID =93&CephID=212
      Another mating display:
      http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/viddb/vidsrch3.cfm?ID =133&CephID=11
      Another:
      http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/viddb/vidsrch3.cfm?ID =74&CephID=212
      More (camouflage?):
      http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/viddb/vidsrch3.cfm?ID =129&CephID=212

      There are many other examples as well, I once saw a TV show on this that was most impressive.

  29. Squid and Octopus? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...I think we know who the man in this relationship was.

  30. Octsquidman by PyrotekNX · · Score: 1

    Half octopus, half squid, half man. I'm so serial!

    1. Re:Octsquidman by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Sorry. That "joke"* stunk when south park did it, and it's not gonna start being funny now.

        * I hate to dignify it by calling it a joke, actually. More like "a sequence of sounds that didn't make Trey Parker stop laughing when he was really, really stoned."

  31. 8 arms??? by Pedrito · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...with eight arms...

    I hate to get into the technobabble nonsense, but I think they're called tentacles (or testicles, if you're a pretty, French foreign-exchange student).

    1. Re:8 arms??? by great+throwdini · · Score: 1

      I think they're called tentacles (or testicles, if you're a pretty, French foreign-exchange student).

      +1 Fitting Movie Reference

    2. Re:8 arms??? by onnel · · Score: 1

      Sorry, then you think wrong. Most squid species have 8 arms and 2 tentacles. The difference between arms and tentacles is mainly that arms have suckers all the way along their length and tentacles only have suckers at the end. Also, tentacles are generally longer. Also of interest: "In mature male squid, one basal half of the left ventral tentacle is hectocotylised - it ends in a copulatory pad rather than suckers. This is used for intercourse between mature males and females." That from a romantic email from my girlfriend entitled "Let's talk about sex". I love that girl!

      --

    3. Re:8 arms??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      **My** testicles do not have suckers on the ends. Except after the bar closes.

  32. Re:Conversation overheard in a Squid bar by slickwillie · · Score: 1

    Squid Chick #1: You gotta watch out for those octopus guys.

    SQ #2: Yeah, I hear they have hands like an octo ... hey!

  33. Whoops, lets try that again by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  34. Iä Iä Cthulhu Ftagh'n Iä Iä by geekondemand · · Score: 2, Funny

    I for one welcome these harbingers of our dark master from beyond!

  35. Squidopus by Aqua+OS+X · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Squidopus is a MUCH better name.
    ugh, idiots.

    --
    "Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
  36. There goes another evolutionary opportunity. by skinfitz · · Score: 1

    Why can't we just leave species to evolve in peace? Every time something mutates and potentially a new species is created, someone kidnaps the new creature and slices it up.

    1. Re:There goes another evolutionary opportunity. by Brotherred · · Score: 1

      Mutations help support the evolutionary theory. New theories are always trying to debunk old ones. As long as no one has physical proof no one really knows anything. Micro-evolution is not proof of anything other than minute changes. But they do like to gather evidence of their claims.

      --
      Those that do not know, pay for it.
    2. Re:There goes another evolutionary opportunity. by sanso999 · · Score: 1

      I always wonder why they can't just quickly take some pics and skin samples or biopsy style removing a bit and then wing the poor thing back where it came from. I may be the only one here who thinks they (octiSpuidPi) are cool to look at, but not on the menu. Gag.

    3. Re:There goes another evolutionary opportunity. by azenpunk · · Score: 1

      why on earth would you assume were catching the first of the line? we've been to that depth so few times i doubt we've even seen 1/10 of the species that are already going strong. and what about the first of a new species that gets eaten by a predator before procreating? it's all part of nature, even if we use scalpels instead of incisors.

  37. I was really drunk in Hawaii a year ago... by Octopus · · Score: 5, Funny

    I remember an underwater nightclub, a squid bachelorette party, lots of dancing, some blow...

    Oh shit.

    1. Re:I was really drunk in Hawaii a year ago... by Draconnery · · Score: 1

      Five digits, huh? You've obviously been planning this gag for a long time.

      Seriously though, good one!

  38. Re:Octosquid is here by gyrogeerloose · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They're already here--parrots have squid-like beaks.

    --
    This ain't rocket surgery.
  39. In the words of the immortal Sergeant Hulka... by R2.0 · · Score: 1

    Lighten up, Francis.

    --
    "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly." A. Carlson
  40. life imitating cartoons by louden+obscure · · Score: 3, Funny

    was there a kitchen sponge living in a pineapple found nearby?

    --
    Serenity now, insanity later.
    1. Re:life imitating cartoons by eln · · Score: 3, Informative

      Sorry, Squidward only has 6 legs (4 legs and 2 arms really).

      I'm ashamed that I know that.

    2. Re:life imitating cartoons by Cervantes · · Score: 1

      That's sad and pathetic. No slashdotter in his/her right mind should have that level of arcane knowledge.

      Please turn in your nerd glasses and funky keyboard at the door, and sign over your low UID (preferably to me...) ;)

      --
      If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
  41. You're wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

    Arms and tentacles are technically different things. An Octopus has 8 "arms." A squid has 8 "arms" + 2 "tentacles" (longer than arms) for a total of 10 appendages. This speciment was found with only 8 arms, like an octopus (instead of the 8 arms + 2 tentacles arrangement of most sqiuds), but with the mantel of a squid (which octopi lack).

    So arms and tentacles are not interchangeble references.

    I found all this from a simple google of the differnces between squids and octopi. You might want to do the same before attempting to correct your fellow slashdotters with mistaken information.

  42. Imagine by EmbeddedJanitor · · Score: 2, Funny
    A Beowulf cluster of these...

    And no it does not run Linux, even though is has base 8.

    And it would sure fuck with the iphone's multi-touch interface.

    --
    Engineering is the art of compromise.
  43. Re:OMG! An old one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    that's "i'a i'a" you dumb faggot.

  44. Squidopus... by AugustZephyr · · Score: 1

    ...Just sounds better.

  45. Half Octopus Half squid by famewolf · · Score: 1

    Who else thinks the name should be CaliSquishy?

    1. Re:Half Octopus Half squid by funwithBSD · · Score: 1

      I hear they found a larger specimen.

      The SuperCaliquishy.

      --
      Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
  46. Re:Octosquid is here by Jimmy+King · · Score: 2, Funny

    Wouldn't that be a Squarrot, though?

  47. Squidtopus? Octosquid? by History's+Coming+To · · Score: 1

    I call baby Architeuthidae! Really small one. Test it for ammonia....

    --
    Please consider this account deleted, I just can't be bothered with the spam anymore.
  48. In related news, half-weasel, half-baboon... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
  49. Re:Octosquid is here by WeblionX · · Score: 4, Funny

    Four heads, four tails, and all dead. I'm telling you this octoparrot is no more. It has ceased to be.

    --
    (\(\
    (=_=) Bani!
    (")")
  50. Proof of the liberal agenda by jollyreaper · · Score: 0

    Probably part of the gay agenda, too. Squids and Octopi making babies, it's just not natural! And knowing those liberals, they'll probably want to go and marry one of these octosquids and have humoctosquidian babies. And that's just wrong.

    OH MY GOD! HUMOCTOSQUIDIAN WAS IN MY FIREFOX SPELL CHECK! HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN PLANNING THIS? TINFOIL! I NEED TINFOIL!

    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  51. Re:Octosquid is here by jollyreaper · · Score: 4, Funny

    Now that octosquid is here, could the OctoParrot be far behind? Don't even ask about octopussy. See, I thought that was a fucking brilliant idea when I was a kid, it'd be a cat but with eight fluffy bendy legs that are like tails they can walk on. It would be unusual but cute. And then I found out that pussy was another name for a vagina and the image got a whole lot more terrifying. Even later, I found out about Japanese tentacle monsters and figured this must be what the lady tentacle monsters would look like.
    --
    Kwisatz Haderach
    Sell the spice to CHOAM
    This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
  52. poor creature by __NR_kill · · Score: 1

    poor creature, just discovered and going directly into the red book. what if they caught the last of it's species?

    1. Re:poor creature by Nephilium · · Score: 1

      I too weep if this is the last of the species...

      We'll never know what it tastes like... I think a nice garlic butter with some nice hot red peppers and olive oil would be the best way to cook it...

      Nephilium...

  53. B.I.O.C. by arclyte · · Score: 1

    Blame It On Cthulhu...

    1. Re:B.I.O.C. by ORACLE-1 · · Score: 1

      BLAME IT ON GLOBAL WARMING

  54. Re:way to go by KylePflug · · Score: 1

    It's a good thing there aren't any dangerous natural formations or circumstances outside of human intervention. It would be a shame to see a hybrid squidtopus not live forever. I hate how human beings have the audacity to interfere with the natural cycle of underwater creatuares eating each other by providing other avenues for them to die occasionally.

  55. Pictures... Need Pictures by karlwilson · · Score: 1

    Without pictures, this "octosquid" is about as real as that perpetual motion device.

    1. Re:Pictures... Need Pictures by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      RTFA

  56. Squidward! by bhawbaker · · Score: 1

    Save Squidward!

  57. Why category? by Tablizer · · Score: 1

    The article would be of more use if it told what octopus features it had and what squid features it had. Other than suction cups, I don't really know the difference.

    Curiously, octopuses, squid, snails, nautaluses, cuttlefish, and slugs all belong to the same phylum of animals, suggesting that they share a common ancestor.

  58. Evolution theory triumphs again. by jotaeleemeese · · Score: 1

    I interpret this as a species of octopus moving to an environmental niche in which the squid already trhives.

    Unsurprisingly it develops similar characteristics that makes it more fit for survival.

    Darwin would be thrilled me thinks.

    --
    IANAL but write like a drunk one.
  59. Died? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    So what is the cause of death when they find one of these things and it dies days later? Is it pressure sickness? Extreme shock?

    1. Re:Died? by eln · · Score: 1

      It's usually extreme heat coupled with some oil, maybe with a little garlic butter thrown in.

  60. could it be? by vnixer · · Score: 1

    A humbug?

    --
    Your sig contains inappropriate language. Please try again!
  61. Re:Octosquid is here by Fred+Ferrigno · · Score: 1

    No octoparrot yet, but the intrepid scientists at Oscar Mayer have discovered the reclusive Octodog.

  62. Avast! by He+Who+Has+No+Name · · Score: 0

    Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope! And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake... the Kraken!

  63. Missing tag... by Biff+Stu · · Score: 1

    Sashimi

  64. I for one by brian_d_w · · Score: 1

    welcome our lightly-battered overlords!

  65. You know you've been a sysadmin too long... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... I built an 8-way squid cluster once, but this is overboard. Or it was overboard, and then they brought it up. But I digress... So I had this 8-way web cache cluster and it sucked. Not like an octopus, and not like squid, which have suckers, but like a web cache that was always crashing.

  66. Re:Woo! I love it! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In order for that to be created...

    Gah!

    It's like tentacle porn, but without the chicks!

  67. typical by dwater · · Score: 1

    > the specimen tentatively belongs to the genus Mastigoteuthis,

    Mr Mstigoteuthis, I don't care how clever you are, you can at least wait until you know what it is before claiming you own it, tentatically or otherwise.

    --
    Max.
  68. Re:OMG! An old one! by vgzlfdjshrtfaweN · · Score: 1

    That's the funniest comment ever posted on the internet. Love it.

  69. last words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's last words were:

    IT'S A TRAP!!!

  70. Re:OMG! An old one! by stjobe · · Score: 1

    Actually it's "Iä! Iä!" you dumb homophobe.

    --
    "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
  71. how can anyone ?!? .... by freaker_TuC · · Score: 1

    ... mod this insightful when there are more than 30 things to watch out for ?!? :)

    --
    --- I am known for the ones who want to find me on the net. Is that a privacy risk or a privilege? One might wonder..
  72. The Piltdown squid? by tryfan · · Score: 1

    Very nicely put together!

  73. Never really watched Japnese pr0n have you? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    One title - "Rumiko's Tako F_ck" (Yes, with real people, not an pr0n anime title)

  74. Hail to the king, baby. by tom_evil · · Score: 1

    "I'm octosquid, and you're squidopus. You're squidy little eight shoes!"

    "Squid, octopus... I'm the one with the spear-gun."

    --
    i am the opposite of tom_good, i am the XOR of ]=9fÆ"ÝÕ and ÖÆ\KF, i am 746F6D5F6576696C00.
  75. OMGz they be stealin my copyright! by cephal0p0d · · Score: 1

    I have prior art, dangit..

    --


    ~!J!
  76. Re:Octosquid is here by Lord+Kano · · Score: 1

    Imagine the next version of LastMeasure...

    PenisSquid.

    Yuck!

    LK

    --
    "Hi. This is my friend, Jack Shit, and you don't know him." - Lord Kano
  77. Re:Woo! I love it! by Junior+J.+Junior+III · · Score: 2, Funny

    Isn't all tentacle porn inter-species? Or are there actually some sick fucks in this world who actually like watching tentacle monsters raping other tentacle monsters?

    --
    You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
  78. Manwhale to the Rescue by Doc+Ruby · · Score: 1

    The Kraken is mutating in its ancient war with the narwhal. Will we see the narwhal hybrid with humans, into some kind of "manwhal", a mammal version of the mermaid? Or maybe a narfish, enlisting fish species before the Kraken snaps them up, and hauls us all down the maelstrom?

    --

    --
    make install -not war

  79. Paging Mr Schneier, Mr Schneier? by IchBinEinPenguin · · Score: 1

    Bruce, are you reading this?

  80. I for one... by Talgrath · · Score: 1

    ...welcome our new half-squid-half-octopus overlords.

  81. Re:OMG! An old one! by vgzlfdjshrtfaweN · · Score: 1

    Homophobe? Were you replying to someone else's post? This is an HP Lovecraft reference... and a darn good one. Like your anagrams, though.

  82. Not so octosquidlike at all by TriggerFin · · Score: 1
    National Geographic reports:

    After the creature died two days later, NELHA operations manager Jan War noticed the squid was missing two tentacles, which probably broke off during its journey up the pipeline. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/07 0706-squid-picture.html
    --
    Here's your sig.
  83. Re:Woo! I love it! by Nachtfalke · · Score: 1

    Or are there actually some sick fucks in this world who actually like...

    The answer to any question that begins with these words is invariably "yes". For proof, see "Internet, the"

  84. Now it's dead. Good job guys. by MikeFM · · Score: 1

    "When we first saw it, I was really delighted because it was new and alive," said Jan War, operations manager at NELHA. "I've never seen anything like that."
    --
    At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
  85. Re:Nope... by mojine · · Score: 1

    well, you are what you eat. Pres and Ding Dongs - yup!

    --
    "It's not how many people I've killed - it's how I get along with the ones that are still alive."