New Euprymna scolopes hatchlings. So many babies in those last days! This species has a very active planktonic phase during the first weeks of its life, this represents a challenge for culture. Fortunately, I'm collaborating with the MBL Cephalopod Lab, so the babies are in good hands!

Up close and personal with the Octopus bimaculoides 👏🏼💙 For an even closer look, tune into Nature tonight at 8 pm ET for Octopus: Making Contact, and listen for an MBL cephalopod initiative shout out! 🐙🐙🤩

😎 Fun fact: Sepia bandensis have 8 arms and 2 tentacles! This dwarf cuttlefish’s feeding tentacles can be seen clearly as it captures its prey 🦑🌟

Happy #octopusday from the ceph squad! 🐙❤️🐙 Here at MBL, we believe in providing the highest standard of care for these animals while educating and supporting research communities worldwide 🤩

This young Metasepia pfefferi hovers on the tips of its club arms! 😎😎The flamboyant cuttlefish uses these arms to amble along the sea floor and is one of very few species known to do so! 🖤

These two Octopus chierchiae are mating peacefully and successfully! 😍 The male O. chierchiae is on top and light in color. We know it’s successful because we can see the hectocotylus, the specialized arm that delivers spermatophores, entering the female’s mantle cavity 🤩🐙🐙

We can’t stop looking at the cool chromatophores on this Euprymna berryi! 🦑🤩🦑(Chromatophores are the pigment containing cells that allow cephs to change color and camouflage) 📸 Tim Briggs captured this hummingbird bobtail squid’s chromatophores in amazing detail! 😍

This juvenile Sepia bandensis carefully perches on this artificial coral 😍😍 At two months old, the dwarf cuttlefish is about the size of a pen cap 😊🦑🦑

Even on Halloween this female Octopus bimaculoides wards off evil and protects her eggs! 💪🏽🐙🚫👻👹 #happyhalloween

This is how a flamboyant cuttlefish goes trick or treating!!! 🤪🎃🍬

A hermit crab? Wait no, an Octopus chierchiae! Could have fooled us! 🤪 This pygmy zebra striped octopus covering itself with a shell is an example of how they can interact with and utilize resources in their environment 🐙🤩

This young Sepia bandensis aims and fires its feeding tentacles at its prey 🎯🎯🎯 Here, the dwarf cuttlefish feeds on a mysid shrimp 🦐🦑🦐

Yes, that’s a real paper clip, and yes that’s a real Euprymna berryi 😍 When the Hummingbird bobtail squid hatches, it’s smaller than a grain of rice 🍚 📸 Tim Briggs

The flamboyant cuttlefish, even with its brilliant array of colors, is able to hide in plain sight. How? 🤔 There are two main components: soft tissue known as papillae that allows for the appearance of texture on its skin & pigment containing cells known as chromatophores.

The striped pyjama squid, Sepioloidea lineolata, spends much of its time buried beneath the substrate 🦑 Here, we get a glimpse of an adult S.lineolata out of the sand and showing off its namesake 🌟

Euprymna berryi are experts at burying and disguising. Using a biological adhesive produced by their glue gland, they can stick sand and other substrates to themselves! 🦑🤯🦑

Meet the pyjama squid, one of the silliest looking cephalopods currently known to science. Named because they look like old timey pajamas. They live in Australia and are also cultured at MBL Cephalopod Lab! Want more squid? Join me Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D

Up close and personal with Metasepia pfefferi 🤩 Watch closely and you’ll see this flamboyant cuttlefish change colors and twist & curl it’s arms!

The Octopus bimaculoides is native to the coast of California, not to be confused with its larger cousin Octopus bimaculatus (which would be too big to fit in this coffee mug 🤪) 🤩🐙

Deep sea squid glow in the dark with bioluminescence to communicate? My latest for Smithsonian Magazine! smithsonianmag.com/science-nature… MBL Cephalopod Lab Smithsonian Magazine