And they're on exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Splash Zone! Seriously, if you are within 100 miles of Monterey, you should go see them now. If you're not, well . . . sorry! Take my word for it, they're really cute! You'll have to take my word for it, because yeah, I forgot my camera. Oops.

That link up there to the aquarium's site will take you to some lovely video footage, though.

MBA is particulary good at showcasing local animals, stuff that you could see (but most people never do) if you went diving right out in the bay. The cuttlefish are some of the few exotics they have on display--Sepia pharaonis, all the way from the coral reefs of the Indian Ocean.

First the bad news: our octopus died. Climbed out over the astroturf, was found on the floor the next day. Very, very sad.

But, the consolation: on the same day, a dozen or so live market squid appeared in our lab, fresh from the spawning grounds, ready to lay eggs for research. They are beautiful!

The good news: a diver was pulling up some instruments and an octopus stowed away. Knowing my lab's love of all things cephalopod, this diver brought us the octopus, who is now adorably and safely ensconced in a very secure tank, and shortly to be stuffed to the gills with crabs and shrimp.

Possibly I have found it:

Species of Opisthoteuthis are the most compressed, in the anterior-posterior axis, of any cephalopod.

Mmmm! Syrup, anyone?

I'm at a conference. It's keeping me busy. Today my friend and fellow conspirator^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H grad student Julie gave an awesome talk about Humboldt squid in the California Current.

Also, there were three talks about octopuses! One of my favorite things about this conference is that every year the Alaskan Octopus Contingent shows up with new findings about the behavior and ecology of the Giant Pacific Octopus--the very species I blame for instigating a childhood cephalopod obsession that made me the grad student I am today.