10-16-2018, 10:46 PM
Squid Empire - The Rise and Fall of the Cephalopods (2017) by Danna Staaf
A wonderful book on the evolution of cephalopods, from their lowly beginnings on the sea bottom living within shells, to buoyancy tactics to rise up into a whole new realm, to transformations into shell-less forms, most notably squid and octopus, to improve their maneuverability and make them less visible to the echo-location whales.
Along the way there's all kinds of facts. The giant squid was long known about from dead carcasses washed up on shore. But it wasn't until 2004 that it was filmed alive in its natural deep habitat. Many people think it is extremely rare. In fact, there has never been a sperm whale cut open that doesn't contain lots of giant squid beaks. While the beaks of squid we eat in a restaurant are pea-sized, these are the size of a hand.
Marine biologists believe that sperm whales eat 3.6 million giant squid every day. That puts their numbers beyond comprehension. The ocean deep is indeed a tentacled realm.
Lots of other remarkable facts. Highly recommended.
A wonderful book on the evolution of cephalopods, from their lowly beginnings on the sea bottom living within shells, to buoyancy tactics to rise up into a whole new realm, to transformations into shell-less forms, most notably squid and octopus, to improve their maneuverability and make them less visible to the echo-location whales.
Along the way there's all kinds of facts. The giant squid was long known about from dead carcasses washed up on shore. But it wasn't until 2004 that it was filmed alive in its natural deep habitat. Many people think it is extremely rare. In fact, there has never been a sperm whale cut open that doesn't contain lots of giant squid beaks. While the beaks of squid we eat in a restaurant are pea-sized, these are the size of a hand.
Marine biologists believe that sperm whales eat 3.6 million giant squid every day. That puts their numbers beyond comprehension. The ocean deep is indeed a tentacled realm.
Lots of other remarkable facts. Highly recommended.