Quill & Quire
Don’t be fooled by this book’s offbeat title or its relatively slight size: James A. Cosgrove and Neil McDaniel’s style is rarely humorous and definitely not lightweight. Cosgrove, a world expert on the Giant Pacific Octopus, and McDaniel, a photographer specializing in wildlife and natural history, have provided readers with a wealth of information about the phylum
Mollusca. Photos on almost every page assist in breaking up the occasionally dense text; the pictures are worth the price of the book on their own. There’s an uncommon and memorable shot of octopuses mating, for example, and another of a curious cephalopod examining a diver’s head. Granted, some of the blob-like images are difficult to decipher, but that is a result of the subject, and has nothing to do with the photographer. Although the text is at times pedantic and patronizing – readers are provided with definitions of words they would certainly be familiar with – on the whole it is as enlightening as the photos. It’s easy to overlook the intermittent repetition in order to learn more about these shadowy, oft-maligned creatures of the deep. I’m edified to learn, for example, that there are 289 known species of octopus, weighing from one gram to over 50 kilograms. Even more interesting, however, is the discovery that these spineless, slithering sea creatures do occasionally capture and eat birds, and that a close relative of the Pacific octopus actually climbs trees to catch its dinner. There haven’t been many books on these secretive, solitary creatures, and there is even less photography capturing their habits and habitats.
Super Suckers more than adequately fills this void.
Product Description
Is there a more bizarre-looking animal in the sea than the octopus? A baggy, boneless body surmounted by a pair of soulless eyes and fleshy horns. Eight snake-like arms with hundreds of suction cups, a stubby funnel projecting like a left-over piece of fire hose... not to mention its three hearts and blue blood. The word cuddly doesn't spring to mind when contemplating these creatures but all are superbly mobile and beguilingly clever.
This book is the culmination of more than forty years of undersea photography and study of the most impressive octopus on the Pacific coast, the giant Pacific octopus. This fascinating monster of the deep--the largest known octopus species in the world--is a master of disguise that can mimic not only the colour but also the texture of its surroundings. It can alter its shape so effectively that small specimens have escaped captivity by slithering down aquarium filter pipes. Wet, cold and slimy, it hunts and pulls apart hardshell crabs. Normally shy, it may interact with divers it comes to recognize. It can learn how to pry open a food container and remember the technique for the next feeding.
Groundbreaking research and previously unpublished biological behaviours are presented along with octopus legends, anecdotes from aquarists and divers and colour photographs of the giant Pacific octopus and other cephalopods found along the Pacific coast, including the Humboldt squid and ruby octopus.
