Today is Squid & Cuttlefish Day, part of International Cephalopod Awareness Days (ICAD), so here are some more #cephalopods for you!
The #vampireSquid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis), literally the ‘vampire squid from hell’ is a small deep sea cephalopod found throughout temperate & tropical oceans with 2 long retractile filaments, located between the 1st 2 pairs of arms on its dorsal side, 1/n
unlike either octopuses or squids. Though most closely related to octopods it is the only surviving memeber of its own order Vampyromorphida. It survives in the deep sea thanks to bioluminescent organs & its unique slow oxygen metabolism.
The firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans), is also called sparkling enope squid or hotaru-ika in Japan. These tiny squid live at depth (200 to 400 m) & they are bioluminescent & emit blue light from photophores. The print shows the squid against a white 2/n
background so you can see the whole animal & then its reflection is shown against dark blue so you can see how its bioluminescence would appear underwater with fluorescent blue spots.
This adorable Bobtail squid (actually, not a #squid, but a cephalopod of order Sepiolida, closer to #cuttlefish) is printed by hand onto black Japanese washi paper with a deckle edge. Sometimes these little things are called dumpling squid or stubby squid. Objectively some of these cutest cephalopods around 3/4
they are typically 1 to 8 cm (about 3/8” to 3 and 1/8”), so this print is more or less life-sized. Each print is 20.3 cm x 20.3 cm (10” x 10”). They are printed with two hand-carved lino blocks with a white lower layer, and a variable orange/yellow/green upper layer (including some very subtle iridescent and glow-in-the-dark pigments).
Find my cephalopod prints here:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/minouette/?etsrc=sdt&search_query=Cephalopod
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