Australia spurs another base for a scenario

This sounds "Beth-ly" (a member of the GZG list for the others and a
bio-science type with an affinity for rolling 1's)  and also pretty good
idea for a SF underwater scenario - find the missing link fishie
thing...

Gracias,
Glenn/Triphibious@juno.com
This is my Science Fiction Alter Ego E-mail address.
Historical - Warbeads@juno.com
Fantasy and 6mm - dwarf_warrior@juno.com

--------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Wilson, Glenn M." <WilsonG@nima.mil>
<snip>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1898000/1898313.stm

Thursday, 28 March, 2002, 10:34 GMT Giant octopus puzzles
              scientists

Out of the freezer: Dismissed at first as just another giant squid

By Kim Griggs in Wellington, New Zealand

What is thought to be the biggest octopus ever found has been caught in waters
off New Zealand.

Marine biologist Dr Steve O'Shea estimates the specimen, which was damaged
when fished up, would have measured four metres in length and weighed 75
kilograms.

"That's a conservative estimate," Dr O'Shea told BBC News Online. "It is an
absolutely massive octopus."

The incomplete specimen has a mantle length (the standard measure of length in
octopus and squid) of 0.69 metres, a total length of 2.9 metres and a weight
of 61 kg.

              Not a squid

Octopus (Haliphron) had previously been thought to reach a mantle length of
only 0.4 metres and a total length of 2 metres.

"Nothing remotely comparable to the size of the New Zealand specimen has ever
been described before," Dr O'Shea said.

The octopus was caught last October in 920 metres of water south east of the
Chatham Islands, by the research ship of New Zealand's National Institute of
Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).

At first, Dr O'Shea paid little attention to the red gelatinous specimen,
thinking it was just another example of his research specialty, the giant
squid.

              Freezer clear-out

"I have a freezer full of squid. And I looked at this and I just thought,
'Heavens, it's a pretty beat up sort of squid'. And I wasn't in any hurry to
defrost it. Then I
              had a freezer clean-out and I had no idea what it was."

              He has provisionally identified the sub-mature female
as being Haliphron atlanticus. Adding to the mystery, this particular species
has never been caught before in the South Pacific.

There are some records from around Japan,
              Papua-New Guinea and from the Atlantic. "The New
Zealand form that we have is more similar to a species which was recorded off
Japan in 1902 than it is to the Atlantic species.

"So although I call it Haliphron atlanticus, that's a very provisional
identification."

Splendid sight

Dr O'Shea is also puzzled by the fact the New Zealand research institute has
never seen juveniles of this species in New Zealand waters.

This is despite the fact that the area where the octopus was found is
extensively trawled by commercial fishing vessels and unusual specimens are
routinely passed to NIWA.

"I don't believe that this animal is residing in New Zealand at all. It could
have been something that's migrated in from spectacular depth.

"Not only is it not residing in New Zealand waters, I don't believe we get the
full life history of the species in New Zealand," he said.

The undamaged octopus would have been a splendid sight: all the arms would
have been connected by a thick web.

"It would have looked like a huge jellyfish or a great big thick umbrella," Dr
O'Shea said.

Pictures courtesy of the New Zealand National Institute of Water and
Atmospheric Research
--------- End forwarded message ----------

G'day,