Kraken and The Colossal Octopus

First published in 2003. From Part One: 'Our ignorance of the marine world is much greater still. It is such that I do not hesitate to claim that, in the ocean, everything is still possible! Faced with the immensity of Neptune's realm, a certain degree of gullibility is preferable to blind incredulity. If it was claimed tomorrow that a real mermaid had been captured - not just an ugly manatee, but a creature boasting Marilyn Monroe's bust and the tail of a coelacanth - the attitude of the zoologist who wished to see it would be much more scientifically justifiable that that of his colleague who would merely shrug the news away. The sea covers more than three fifths of the surface of the globe, but our ships cross it only along rather narrow and fixed paths.' This book looks at the science behind the stories.

Autorentext
Dr Bernard Heuvelmans, Zoologist

Klappentext

First published in 2003. From Part One: 'Our ignorance of the marine world is much greater still. It is such that I do not hesitate to claim that, in the ocean, everything is still possible! Faced with the immensity of Neptune's realm, a certain degree of gullibility is preferable to blind incredulity. If it was claimed tomorrow that a real mermaid had been captured - not just an ugly manatee, but a creature boasting Marilyn Monroe's bust and the tail of a coelacanth - the attitude of the zoologist who wished to see it would be much more scientifically justifiable that that of his colleague who would merely shrug the news away. The sea covers more than three fifths of the surface of the globe, but our ships cross it only along rather narrow and fixed paths.' This book looks at the science behind the stories.

Inhalt
PART ONE HERE, EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE 1. Below the Wavy Curtain PART TWO ANIMALS WITH FEET ON THEIR HEAD Classification of The Cephalopods 2 . On the aggressivity of the Octopus, in Literature and in the Oceans 3. A Family Album of Cephalopods PART THREE THE FAMILY TREE OF THE FEARSOME KRAKEN 4. Giant Polyps of Antiquity 5 . The Medieval Fable of the Island-Beast 6. Science looks at the Kraken PART FOUR THE COMPLETE STORY OF THE SUPREME SQUID 7. The First Pieces of Evidence 8. Pierre Denys de Montfort, Outlawed Malacologist 9. The Monster is Identified 10. The Inadmissible Squid of the Alecton 11. Architeuthis Galore PART FIVE THE SHADOW SIDE 12. Final Uncertainties 13. The Incomplete Story o f the Colossal Octopus