Let's play.... NAME THAT BIZARRE CEPHALOPOD!!!!

[Melissa]

Nick, we've seen pictures of the Silly Octopus,are you sure it doesn't exist? I thought he was Pale Hippo's drinking buddy - don't tell me WK is drinking all that beer without any help!



Melissa

 

[Tintenfisch]

Here's an interesting one. This ceph is...

known only from extremely advanced reproductive stages

currently designated as its own species but

may be synonymous with something else

 

[NickA5582]

Here's an extremely easy one that I made confusing...

Last name can quack........

Actually it's not that confusing either........

 

[Phil]

Hmmmm...........Architeuthis.....oh I don't know.

How about A.drake?

Yo, Kat, as for yours, how about Valbyteuthis?

 

[Phil]

Tintenfisch,

Ignore my post above.

Methinks yours may possibly be Onykia, possible juvenile specimen of Moroteuthis.

Do I win a coconut, or is it back to the books?

 

[Tintenfisch]

Wellllll... maybe third time lucky... ?

 

[um...]

Cirroctopus antarctica? No more clues?

:?

 

[Tintenfisch]

'Tis a squid

'Twas originally described in German

The tentacle clubs are unknown

 

[Steve O'Shea]

?sauerkraut with squid?

 

[um...]

Is it Promachoteuthis sp. D?

 

[Sedusa]

My only guess would be Asperoteuthis sp. B, maybe? but I can't find anything about that species being described in german...? I give up!

 

[Tintenfisch]

OK, one last set of hints.

The tentacles, though unknown, will have hooks on them

The species is characterized in part by its gelatinous tissue

If Ghengis had married an Irishwoman, their child's Latin name would have gone something like this

 

[um...]

Enigmoteuthis odannyboykhani Bolstad, 2003? :x

 

[Tintenfisch]

OK, I'll tell ya. It's Chaunoteuthis mollis Appellöf, 1891. This is a species whose validity is currently under debate (on Tree of Life its current systematic status is given as Onychoteuthis Lichtenstein [sic] although there's no information given for a species of that name); it is generally agreed that Chaunoteuthis encompasses spent individuals of the other onychoteuthid genera. BUT certain dissimilarities suggest that it may also be its own kettle of fish; at the moment I'm translating Appellöf's original description from German and will post it here when it's done.
An enigma, indeed.

 

[NickA5582]

Another easy fake one.

Huge.

Lots of tentacles.

No beak, just teeth.

No suckers on the tentacles.