Tremoctopus violaceus

[Colin]

http://www.theroyalgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2005101120060

http://tolweb.org/notes/?note_id=2416

'This week’s discovery of a deep sea octopus in Mangrove Bay thrilled local marine biologist, Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer, who described the find as “spectacular”.
“I’ve never seen one of these before,” Dr. Sterrer said of the three-foot purple octopus which was first seen laying eggs in the shallow waters of Mangrove Bay last Thursday and then found dead later in the week.
'

 

[Steve O'Shea]

OK, now I'm confused. I always thought this animal brooded eggs/embryos. Now there's a report of an egg mass being deposited (I would have said aborted, but hatching indicates viability).

This is most interesting - possible duel reproductive strategies.

O

 

[cthulhu77]

Great links and cool news...thanks !

 

[Steve O'Shea]

I was just hunting through some junk here and found a couple of pencils of the NZ species, T. robsonianus. I never did ink them and now they're quite aged/discoloured.

I'm still struck by the fact that this octopus deposited eggs to something, as they do incubate/brood within the distal oviducts ... at least in the New Zealand species.

 

[Steve O'Shea]

Also found these of a related thing, Ocythoe tuberculata. The female gets huge, to over a metre in TL, whereas the male fits in the palm of your hand; never did finish either! (female on the left, with the mantle quite warty on the ventral surface; the male has the hectocotylus enclosed in that pouch)

 

[Nancy]

You do beautiful drawings, Steve.

Nancy

 

[Steve O'Shea]

Used to Nancy; mum has hoarded all of this stuff I did as a young teen - full water colours. I look at it today and I wonder how I ever did it. If I ever walk from all of this and just go bush, or sit on an island, perhaps I'll start again. I've been looking for illustrations that I could use for a book here. The best stuff is now ~ 20 years old. Here's one that was supposed to have been published in a paper .... but I forgot to send the illustration and it was published without it. Hmmmmmm. Thaumeledone zeiss, probably our most rare species of benthic octopodid; unlike me to actually finish one (I've had to reduce the resolution, so the pixels blur ... it's a lot better than it looks here)!

Years ago when I was doing these you couldn't photocopy/scan pencil well enough to actually use them in publications, so I did everything twice, pretty much - although the pencil was always better than the inkings.

 

[Fujisawas Sake]

Very Ernst Haeckel-esque.

Oh, and that is a HUGE compliment from me, btw. I think the classical approach to natural history with pencil sketches is wonderful. Sadly, its a bit of a lost art these days