The University of Minnesota creates life in the laboratory! » « I am so pessimistic

What long limbs you have…

Very pretty.

Of course, you have to remember that it’s probably got the texture of a spongecake, and those long arms are there to collect marine snow, so don’t invite her on a dinner date and don’t expect intimacy, unless you like limp noodles. She’s all show.

The University of Minnesota creates life in the laboratory! » « I am so pessimistic

Comments

  1. says

    ‘In spiders evolved’ PZ mentioned: Theridiidae . . making something called a gumfoot web, which is a sticky line under tension that is attached to the ground. Prey that contact the gumfoot line get snared, break the tension, and then get yanked up into the air. It’s a brilliant innovation.

    I must say, these squid seem to be using a technique that is loosely similar, trapping the ‘marine snow’ food with long filaments.
    PZ seems to still have a lingering fondness for cephalopods.

  2. John Morales says

    They are remarkable in appearance, that’s for sure.

    Wikipedia sez:

    Magnapinna is thought to be the deepest-occurring squid genus, with sightings as deep as 6,212 metres (20,381 ft) below the surface, making it the only squid known to inhabit the hadal zone.[5][6]

    Pressure at that depth is around 615 atmospheres, so I imagine leaving that environment would not be real good for its tissues.

    <checks>

    Ouchies:

    But back to the squid. To answer your question, the reason why this same 2,500 PSI does not harm the squid is that, unlike the submarine, the squid’s body is not sealed tight with a low-pressure area inside.The squid’s body has the same pressure inside as the water outside. Because the squid’s body is almost entirely liquid and some solid (remember that solids and especially liquids strongly resist being compressed), every PSI exerted from outside the squid by the seawater is balanced by PSI exerted on the seawater from inside the squid. There is no low pressure space inside the squid that can be crushed by outside pressure. However, if you were to suddenly bring a squid (or any other deep-sea creature) to the surface of the ocean, where the outside pressure is only 15 PSI, the extra 2,485 PSI pressing out from inside would immediately kill it. This happens because the gases dissolved under high pressure in the squid’s body fluids will violently boil out under the sudden low pressure, causing massive tissue damage. This phenomenon is know to divers as “the bends”, and has crippled and killed many divers who surfaced too quickly after spending time deep underwater at high pressure. This is one of many reasons why deep diving is extremely dangerous.

    (http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=685)

  3. says

    Interesting facts, John, about equalized pressure in the squid body.
    Hey, PZ, as background for this article, maybe we should play’ ‘Under Pressure’ 1981 by Queen and David Bowie

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