I, for one, welcome our cephalopod overlords

DD* · Post by DD* » Thu May 17, 2018 7:52 am

Some random clicking around the interwebs today brought me to this article: The Outer Space Octopus Theory. Additional links within the story.

The truth is out there.

Drazzil · Post by **Drazzil** » Sat May 19, 2018 1:20 am

I'm a big fan of conspiracy theories and I still find that a bit far fetched.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat May 19, 2018 2:04 am

The fossil record is unkind to soft-bodied invertebrates. I'll hazard that the odds of an undiscovered progenitor or two are higher than panspermia. But it's a fun idea, and not impossible.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat May 19, 2018 2:27 am

I have absolutely no idea how that part of the article got past peer review. There is exactly zero evidence for the cosmic origin hypothesis and tons of genetic evidence showing how cephalopods are related to not just other mollusks but all other animals. We don’t have a huge fossil record, but that’s not surprising given the soft bodied nature of these inverts. This article is getting hammered in the evolutionary biology world.

DD* · Post by DD* » Thu May 24, 2018 1:11 pm

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I have absolutely no idea how that part of the article got past peer review. There is exactly zero evidence for the cosmic origin hypothesis and tons of genetic evidence showing how cephalopods are related to not just other mollusks but all other animals. We don’t have a huge fossil record, but that’s not surprising given the soft bodied nature of these inverts. This article is getting hammered in the evolutionary biology world.

That’s just what “they” want you to think...

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LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu May 24, 2018 1:20 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Sat May 19, 2018 2:04 am The fossil record is unkind to soft-bodied invertebrates.

Well, unkind is your goal is to be recorded, but what if your goal is to not be recorded? What if your goal was to blend in and be unnoticed?

Fossil recording has indeed been very kind...

Sectoid · Post by **Sectoid** » Fri May 25, 2018 3:02 pm

Aren't Ammonoidea related to living coleoids (squid, octopus, etc)? There's plenty of fossils of them around.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri May 25, 2018 3:29 pm

"No, Octopuses Don't Come From Outer Space"

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri May 25, 2018 3:34 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Fri May 25, 2018 3:29 pm "No, Octopuses Don't Come From Outer Space"

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 5:33 pm

Octopus heavy cavalry has arrived.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Sat Jul 13, 2019 8:36 pm

Mice and rats have nothing on the Octopus in this regard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3N0i_KM8cI

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 4:56 pm

NPR

Octopuses have alternating periods of "quiet" and "active" sleep that make their rest similar to that of mammals, despite being separated by more than 500 million years of evolution.

During their active periods of sleep, octopuses' skin color changes and their bodies twitch, according to a report in the journal iScience, and they might even have short dreams.

"If they are dreaming, they are dreaming for up to a minute," says Sidarta Ribeiro, a neuroscientist at the Brain Institute at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil.

Brian · Post by **Brian** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:06 pm

But are they dreaming of electric sheep?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Mar 25, 2021 8:44 pm

Brian wrote: ↑Thu Mar 25, 2021 5:06 pm But are they dreaming of electric sheep?

Pretty sure they are dreaming of smiting all non-believers.

A nonny mouse · Post by **A nonny mouse** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 8:41 am

I guess geologists are in wth the non-believers?

Western Australia is Smoove's next holiday.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 1:44 pm

For Smoove's edification, here's the video from the guy who was attacked:

Background:
I was walking along the beach in Geographe Bay outside Ramada resort in Dunsborough, Western Australia, on 18th March with my two year old daughter. We were preparing to go for a swim. I saw the arms of an octopus come out of the water and lash out at a seagull. I initially thought it was a stingray, which are common in the area and quite friendly. I walked with my daughter in my arms up to the octopus and took this video. The octopus lashed out at us, which was a huge shock!

Further information:
20 minutes later we had set up a tent further along the beach and I went for a swim while my wife and daughter stayed on the shore. I had assumed the octopus would have gone out to deeper water. I was wearing goggles, and saw a pile of crab shells. The water was around 1.5m deep. I swam over the crab shells to see what they were and felt a sudden whip across my arm. My goggles became fogged, the water was suddenly murky and I remember being shocked and confused. I was then struck a second time, more forcefully, across my neck and upper back. I can only describe it as a "whipping" sensation followed by a stinging (and a rapid rush to shore!). When I got back to shore I began to see the raised imprints across my arm, over my neck and upper back. I got my wife to take a photo of my neck (which has since been shared on Instagram) so that I could see it, and we decided to quickly pack up and go back to the resort. The pain was not as bad as a blue bottle or other sting that I've had before. We did not have any vinegar/acid to pour over the sting (which is typically what is done in surf lifesaving) so I suggested my wife pour coke over me. This worked well to stop the stinging.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:41 pm

Yeah, thanks. It's 100% nightmare fuel. I don't know how anyone watching it lurk in the shallows and then snap out isn't freaked the hell out. It's downright terrifying.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:46 pm

Mate should have tried octopus on the barbie. And about those friendly stingrays? The ghost of Steve Irwin would like a word with him.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri Apr 02, 2021 3:05 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Fri Apr 02, 2021 2:41 pm Yeah, thanks. It's 100% nightmare fuel. I don't know how anyone watching it lurk in the shallows and then snap out isn't freaked the hell out. It's downright terrifying.

Indeed. Although their mysterious gigantic deep sea brethren are more than a little perturbing, too:

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed May 26, 2021 11:44 pm

Cephalopods in space!

"Animals, including humans, rely on our microbes to maintain a healthy digestive and immune system," Foster said. "We do not fully understand how spaceflight alters these beneficial interactions. The UMAMI experiment uses a glow-in-the-dark bobtail squid to address these important issues in animal health."

Bobtail squid, which are only about three millimeters long, work as the perfect model to study this for two reasons. These squid have a special light organ inside the body which can be colonized by a species of luminescent bacteria. The squid can then use that bacteria to glow in the dark. Because it's a single species of bacteria and one type of host tissue, it's easy for researchers to follow how this process unfolds, Foster said.

The squid also have an immune system which is very similar to the type that humans have.

Octopus Overlords