Friday cepahopod blogging—vampire squid

I have to post this early because I’ll be dashing to Hamilton and back tomorrow night. In the sleet.

The Vampire Squid, a deep-sea mollusc, is so-called because its tentacles are connected by a cape reminiscent of a bat’s wing.

Wouldn’t you know it: I type “vampire squid” into Google and find that P. Z. has beaten me to it, two years ago! And here’s Vampyroteuthis infernalis on the Tree of Life Web. And there’s lots of Vampyroteuthis information on the Cephalopod Pages.

The illustration is from Tentacles by James Martin.

Tags: Vampire squid, squid, organisms, science, marine life, cephalopods, molluscs

"How did you hear about your deity"?

Follow the link to the Deity evaluation form. Customer feedback is important!

See Zeus makes a comeback in Athens or Happy Mithrastide!

Tags: religion, humor, FSM

Coyote observations?

I’ve been having an e-mail discussion about urban coyotes with someone at Animal Services in the City of Toronto.

I started with “I think I saw a coyote.” When I reported that sighting I got a response from Animal Services; and I’ve just responded with my own observations, somewhat contrary to theirs.

Does anyone have experience with coyotes or other wildlife vs. pets?

My neighbour said he was in Banff one morning (a small town in the Rocky Mountains) and saw a coyote trotting down the street with half a poodle in its mouth; but I’m not sure he’s a reliable witness.

Dawkins is misrepresented and vilified

So what’s new? Some anti-choice Web site has pulled the afterward out of Richard Dawkins’ book about “Dangerous Ideas,” called it a “letter to the editor,” and claimed that Dawkins was endorsing both eugenics and, by extension, Hitlerian campaigns of genocide. As Orac of Respectful Insolence explains, kindly and at great length, Dawkins said nothing of the sort.