In today’s NY Times (Feb. 19, 2008), Carl Zimmer wrote a fascinating article about the “spectacular deceptions of cephalopods” (aka octopus, squid and cuttlefish). “Revealed: Secrets of the Camouflage Masters” tries to explain the magic of these mysterious sea creatures which have been researched over three decades by Dr. Roger T. Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. There’s a great video profile of the D. Hanlon’s work on the NY Times website, check it out.
Despite thousands of dives, Dr. Hanlon still considers himself a novice in spotting cephalopods. Once, after following an octopus for an hour and a half, he looked away a moment to switch cameras. When he looked back, the animal was gone.
Check out my previous post Underwater Astonishments with David Gallo from TED Talks which ends with some spectacular footage that was shot by Dr. Hanlon.
On CNN today there was some amazing video of another mysterious sea creature: giant sea spiders. Check it out for yourself.
The mysteries of the oceans are magical. If I was a young person today, I would give serious consideration to embarking on a career in marine biology or oceanography. But I guess I just have to settle on being maritime blogger for now.
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