Even More Intriguing than Ancient Aliens....

Adorable and romantic puffer fish!

Building underwater "crop circles" to impress the ladies!

Full story here and here.

'Branch Beat

OPod on shuffle.  (GastrOPod, that is.)

Home, Home on the Range

Where the deer and the nudibranchs play.

Squid Attack!

My complements to the editor on the jazzy soundtrack.

 

That thing getting attacked is a remotely operated vehicle from the amazing Neptune Canada project.

"Octo"pus, uh, "Dance"

This act takes a very strange Flash Gordon direction at :44.



Book the Octopus and his ladyfriend via VeniaminShows.com

1978 Week Ends Abruptly: Do You Really Want to Watch the Trailer from "Convoy?"

If you really do, it's here.  But wouldn't it me more fun to watch the trailer from cinematic masterpiece Orca?




Unlike Convoy, a 1978 release, Orca graced screens in 1977, so doesn't technically fit within this week's theme.  I think it's a sacrifice worth making.

Nudibranch Tuesday: "Best Flatworm Ever"

Okay, not a nudibranch, just some other sort of "sea slug," but still enchanting.  And arty!  Plus I think it's sporting "caviar nail art."

Starfishes of the Mind

This video clip makes me shriek.  I can not tell whether I am shrieking with delight or terror. Via Everything is Terrible:



Weirdly enough, while reading Echinoblog yesterday, I also came upon a similar clip (embedded below); credits end around 1:30:



If you really want to watch Warning from Space in its entirety, it's here.

Are giant, English-speaking, bipedal starfishes "trending?" Gosh, I hope so!

Nudibranch Tuesday: Philately Edition

Via:  http://www.examiner.com/article/nudibranchs-featured-on-new-australian-stamps-1

New issues from Australia join a surprisingly large catalog of nudibranch postage stamps.

Look out!  There's a shark in the surf!  No, wait... it's just a nudibranch.

Fish Egg Fingertips

New for 2012:  "caviar" nail art.

Follow the tutorial here.

Frog Kicks Back

The YouTube poster assures us, "The video was shot entirely fortuitously. The frog is OK. There is no nails, no glue, animal abuse, etc. Later, she jumped off the bench and galloped away to the water"

Nudibranch Tuesday: Nail Art Edition

You must have shared my sense that this was inevitable.


Tutorial one gives us:

And a second approach to Nudibranch Nails:

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Nudibranch art by Jillian Walters


Nudibranch attack! by ~MissNysha on deviantART


Colorful Toxic Nudibranchs! by ~MissNysha on deviantART

Nudibranch Tuesday!

These little guys are so expressive in elegant closeup!



Many more exciting undersea videos await at the YouTube Channel of Japan's Enoshima Aquarium.

Feelin' Crabby?

A smooch will cheer you up.

source

More lip designs from this artist and other lovely images here: viridis-somnio.deviantart.com

I know what you're thinking...  Yes, the internet has given us nail art to match.

Via the delightfully named Spaz and Squee

Art Film

This has everything:  dance!  costumes!  underwater! underwater puppetry!

The film is about 10 minutes long and deserves your full attention, so if you're in the middle of your day perhaps you'd like to come back when you're settled in after dinner.


SOLIPSIST from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Also: a behind-the-scenes video--


SOLIPSIST - Making Of from Andrew Huang on Vimeo.

Thank you Andrew Huang!

More Octopus Romance... and More Nail Art

Here in the open ocean, things seem a bit more decorous, but I still think there's a menacing undertone to the sentiment, "you ARE going to say you love me too."  Nonetheless,  I appreciate that the editor of this video has kept us on our toes with a Beatles' tune that is NOT Octopus's Garden.

Actual underwater footage starts at :22



These blue ring octopodes must be absolute champs at repelling the evil eye.

via http://www.evileyebeads.org/turkish-evil-eye-beads/

via http://www.itsnature.org/sea/other/dangerous-blue-ring-octopus/ combined with
http://dussandharma.blogspot.com/

While we're on topic of nazars, how about some nail art!

via http://www.emeraldsparkled.com/2010/06/notd-evil-eye.html

via http://www.emeraldsparkled.com/2010/06/tutorial-evil-eye-design.html

manicured from http://www.uwphotographyguide.com/blue-ringed-octopus

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Allow the peppy tune to enhance your enjoyment of this week's sea slugs! (Video changes over to a second nudibranch one minute in.)

Nudibranch Tuesday!

Six Hearts that Beat as Three

At the Seattle Aquarium on Valentine's Day, an exhibit was reconfigured to allow "Rocky" access to female tankmate "Mayhem."

Via KPLU.org

On the one hand, it's pretty weird to anthropomorphize octopus mating--note roses in tank (apparently heart shaped decorations and romantic music further "set the mood.")  I'm not sure how much anthropomorphism colors my impression that maybe captive Mayhem didn't like having her tank opened to Rocky.  He did not exactly proffer a genteel request to hold her hand, hand, hand, [etc.]  On the other hand, OOOOOH OCTOPUS ROMANCE!

Maybe they can get married in front of the beluga tank!