(The mermaid’s at the end if you want to skip ahead.)

Cephalopod News

Do you, by any chance, like to argue? Scientists definitely do. They argue about which fossils came first and which animals evolved before which other animals. As long as people listen to each other with respect, arguments are a valuable part of science.

That’s an excerpt from my next kids’ book, a nonfiction time-travel adventure through the evolution of cephalopods.

And one of the longest-standing arguments in this arena is what’s the oldest octopus fossil?

In 2000, some scientists thought they’d found a 300-million-year old contender, which they named Pohlsepia mazonensis. It had no internal or external shell, aligning it with that squishiest of cephalopods, the octopus.

However, other scientists were skeptical from the start. Now this skepticism has been born out, as reported by the University of Reading:

The scientists in the new study used synchrotron imaging – a technique that uses beams of light brighter than the sun – to scan for structures invisible to the eye beneath the surface, revealing hidden details inside the rock. The scientists likened the process to giving a 300-million-year-old suspect a modern forensic examination.

The imaging revealed Pohlsepia’s radula, or tooth-lined tongue. Its distinctive anatomy precluded any octopus affiliation and instead matched a shelled cephalopod called Paleocadmus pohli, already known from the area. The scientists figured that this particular specimen must have been separated from its shell and begun to decompose before fossilizing, making it superficially resemble an octopus.

But we do have some true octopus news! You know how octopus arms are often said to have “brains of their own” and independent behavior? New research illuminates an incredible example: the specialized mating arm of male octopuses, known as a hectocotylus, can apparently detect female hormones with chemotactile sensors. The touch-taste of progesterone stimulates both neural activity and movement in the hectocotylus. Wow!

My News

April 18, 2pm: Sam Julian, Josue Cruz, and I are bringing our How to Draw an Octopus Workshop to the Peninsula Library Comics Fest (South San Francisco Public Library, CA)

April 20, 6:45pm Eastern Time: I’ll be back with Smithsonian Associates to give an online talk titled Don’t Be a Sucker: Sorting Fact from Fiction in Pop Culture Cephalopod Portrayals

Funny Pages

Okay, so I’ve drawn a lot of merfolk. I drew a set of anatomically correct octopus merpeople, and I drew a month of cat mermaids for #meowmay.

But last week I received a press release in my inbox with this image of an anglerfish that looks upsettingly like a human head…

…and I had to give it a body, leading to what I humbly propose may be my best mermaid yet.