Genetic analysis of octopodes indicates that they developed in the ocean around Antarctica. They spread out from that continent when an ice sheet covered it and created cold water currents in all directions to the north.

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) – Many octopuses evolved from a common ancestor that lived off Antarctica more than 30 million years ago, according to a “Census of Marine Life” that is seeking to map the oceans from microbes to whales.

The $650 million census is on track for completion in 2010, assessing about 230,000 known marine species, a statement said. It has identified 5,300 likely new species, of everything from fish or corals. So far, 110 have been confirmed as new.

Among the findings, genetic evidence showed that the tentacles of the octopus family pointed to an Antarctic ancestor for many deep sea species. A modern octopus called Adelieledone in Antarctica seemed the closest relative of the original.

Octopuses apparently spread around the world after Antarctica became covered with a continent-wide ice sheet more than 30 million years ago, a shift that helped create oxygen-rich ocean currents flowing north, a report said.

“Isolated in new habitat conditions, many different species evolved; some octopuses, for example, losing their defensive ink sacs — pointless at perpetually dark depths,” the census said.

Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Mollusca (Phylum) > Conchifera (Subphylum) > Cephalopoda (Class) > Coleoidea (Subclass) > Octopodiformes (Superorder) > Octopoda (Order) > Incirrata (Suborder) > Octopodoidea (Superfamily) > Octopodidae (Family) > Adelieledone Allcock et al., 20

It’s Cephalopod Appreciation Day!

Image from the U.S. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

The LOLluscs are coming!

more funny pictures

You can go to the Web site of the Te Papa Museum for recordings of their lectures and webcasts about the recently dissected squids. The colossal squid is Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni and the giant squid is Architeuthis.

Lectures recordings

The audio recording of Science Express is available:
http://www.tepapa.govt.nz
/ScienceExpress/ScienceExpress.May.2008.Colossal.Squid.mp3

The other lectures have been filmed. The videos will be available later. Some copyright issues need to be sorted too, so this might take a little longer than expected.

Webcast retransmission

A retransmission of the last hours of the webcast are available here:
http://www.R2.co.nz/20080427/squid-1.asx

Craig at Deep Sea News talks about the two squid being dissected in New Zealand.:

To bring you up to speed, a crack team of teuthologists* dissected both Giant and Colossal Squids at the Te Papa Museum in New Zealand last week. This is where the confusion arises as a Giant Squid AND 2 Colossal Squid were dissected. One of these was the 495kg giant caught over a year ago by fisherman in the Antarctic (oh yeah…she’s a girl!). Seeing the media consistently confuse the two species greatly saddens me. But hey if the media always got it right there would be little need for DSN.

So for clarity the Giant Squid and the Colossal Squid are completely different. Below I provide a list that you can print out and keep in your wallet or purse along with your Seafood Watch card….

Read more.

The colossal squid is Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni and the giant squid is Architeuthis.