NC Museum of Natural Sciences Blogs

I realize that people do not look fondly on amoebas, as they usually associate them with bad memories of a bout of amoebic dysentery. And it’s true that they often resemble the amoebic Mars alien creature that infected the astronaut in the 1959  sci-fi flick, The Angry Red Planet , or a smaller version of the monster in the 1958 

by Brian O’Shea

I am currently in Suriname working with two Masters’ students conducting research on bird and mammal diversity in selectively-logged forests. I’ve done much bird survey work here over the past several years, and I come back as often as I can — Suriname is truly a gem, with more than 80% of its territory still covered by forest.

Greetings Blogophiles! Well, we made it. Today is the last official day of Cephalopod Awareness Days; phew. Fossils! I’m a paleontologist, who actually does research on fossil cephalopods, but I tend to work on the parts of them nobody ever thinks about, such as fossilized squid pens and cuttlebones.  However, as I’ve already mentioned these in previous blogs, today we will focus on ammonites and belemnites.

Greetings Blogophiles! We are more than halfway through Cephalopod Awareness Week! Feeling any more aware? Today, October 11th, we spend the day telling tall tales and conjuring cephalopod related beasties. What fun!

Did you know that bagpipes were invented by Shane MacDoogle after a fishing trip? Turns out Shane had accidentally hooked into an octopus. While he was trying to get it off the hook he accidentally squeezed its head.

Five Caribbean reef squid, Sepioteuthis sepioidea, schooling in the Cayman Islands. Photo: ©Roger T. Hanlon. Used with written permission.

Greetings Blogophiles! Welcome to day three of Cephalopod Awareness Days. Today, October 10th, is the day we celebrate the cephalopods with ten appendages; squid and cuttlefish. Woo Hoo! Finally a subject I actually do research on. Because of that, I celebrate squid and cuttlefish almost daily.

Extant chambered nautilus. Please note its many arms, they’re just one of its many charms. Photo by Rofanator on Flickr

Greetings Blogophiles! It’s October 9th, day two of Cephalopod Awareness Days. Today is nautiloids and other lesser known cephalopods. Most of you are probably already aware of nautiloids, they show up as jewelry, as table decorations and for all you math enthusiasts, the shell of the chambered nautilus is frequently used as an example of…

Octopus burryi moving with stealth amidst a field of Pennincilus algae. Photo: ©Roger T.Hanlon used with written permission.

Greetings Blogophiles! It’s finally here, October 8th, the first day of International Cephalopod Awareness Days (ICAD)! Because it is the 8th and octopuses have eight arms, today is Octopus Day!! Be aware of them. I really like octopuses, but as a paleontologist, I almost never get to see them.