Nipple Cactus

[Sabre52]

*LOL* OK since this has become the weird stuff thread, as some of you know, as a starving college student, I made some of my money by collecting for a biological supply house. One of the high ticket items we could collect were Echiurid worms, a mud dwelling filter feeder that occurred in muddy sloughs at Moss landing, CA. The particular variety at that location reached sizes of about a foot long and were popular as both scientific specimens and conversation pieces as their actual common name is the "penis worm". Here's a pic from a market in the orient where they eat them (ugh!). Some folks will eat anything *L*....Mel

[jamesp]

Leave it to a biologist set stage for incessent vomiting.Those are as scary as it gets Mel.

[Deleted]

Mel, how does one collect Echiurida? Muddy saltwater sounds like clamming to me

[jamesp]

I am glad that other people in this world were forced to make part of their living in the mud.
Or at least inquire.Never dreamed i would meet 2 swampers,from California,i am thinking desert.

[Sabre52]

Scott: Yep, very much like clamming, low tide, mud up to your waist sometimes, and lots of floundering about. Seems to work best if you've had a few beers too. I was still drinking in those days *L*. Only thing more difficult to collect were mantis shrimp...Mel

[Deleted]

California has Mantis Shrimp? I want to eat Mantis Shrimp. A Japanese friend said Mantis Shrimp (Shako) is the most devine seafood of all.

+1 for beer related worm hunting!

[Sabre52]

Scott: Yep, genus Hemisquilla, I think. Back in the dark ages when the saltwater aquariuum thing was just taking off, they were much prized in the cold water salt water aquarium trade. Hard to capture and pretty nasty little buggers but often with bright cyan blue colors and freaking gorgeous in a tank. Interesting to watch too, they make little dens or burrows they operate from and defend them aggressively. Almost as much fun as a pet octopus I had for a year or so....Mel

[Deleted]

I may to get a boat for ocean harvesting. Traps for mantis shrimp and eels seem to be similar. Stay up all night trapping eels, mantis shrimp, lobster and fishing for whatever while the traps soak!

Thanks Mel!

[Bikerrandy]

Damn, that looks huge!! (and scarey) lol

[Sabre52]

Scott, I don't know if ocean marine collecting is feasible anymore. We were having a difficult time with permits, licenses and such way back when and it's gotten way worse over the years, with nasty enforcement and penalties. Plus, Ward's of California closed years ago because of lack of interest in biology on the part of today's kids and with the advent of warm water marine aquariums the market pretty much dried up. I don't even know where in California you'd sell these days....Mel

[Deleted]

I would not do it to sell. I wouldn't target the penis worms. Just the mantis shrimp. And then just for the eating.

[Sabre52]

They do get pretty big, like a foot long but we used to only collect the smaller examples which seemed to be more colorful. Never even thought of eating them because I'm not a real seafood fan. I can tell you they are remarkably nasty and hard to handle and we avoided handling them except with a big slurp gun. A big mantis shrimp can chop right through your diving gloves and cut you good and they are lightning fast too. I think the weenie worms are protected now...Mel

[panamark]

I used to collect cactus. Had hundreds and hundreds. They are fascinating in their myriad shapes and colors and flowers. The genus Mammillaria (two L's) comes from the Latin root word mamma, but is the diminutive form mamilla. So it appears that it could mean breast (mamma) or teat/nipple (mamilla). Like Scott said, I think beast much better describes the shape of the cactus tubercle which is the defining part for the genus. The spiny part (which are actually evolved modified leaves!) are called the areole though. And that is all the Latin I know. Sorry for the discourse :-)
One more interesting thing though about cactus is that orchids are very closely related and some think cactus evolved from orchids!

[panamark]

Since this thread had turned to the truly weird side, if you want to see some aquatic organism that really is revolting just google/click parasite replaces fish tongue
I won't post a picture here, because it REALLY does make me feel sick and a bit horrified. But if you have a strong stomach, I invite you to check and contemplate how nasty this creature seems. Yuck!

[Deleted]

Jun 25, 2013 11:46:26 GMT -5 panamark said:

I used to collect cactus. Had hundreds and hundreds. They are fascinating in their myriad shapes and colors and flowers. The genus Mammillaria (two L's) comes from the Latin root word mamma, but is the diminutive form mamilla. So it appears that it could mean breast (mamma) or teat/nipple (mamilla). Like Scott said, I think beast much better describes the shape of the cactus tubercle which is the defining part for the genus. The spiny part (which are actually evolved modified leaves!) are called the areole though. And that is all the Latin I know. Sorry for the discourse :-)
One more interesting thing though about cactus is that orchids are very closely related and some think cactus evolved from orchids!

Panamark;

I was being silly so I could squeeze the word titillating into the thread! lol

[panamark]

Oh, I rather enjoyed it all
Everyone is being quite good I would say
- Mark

[jamesp]

rockpickerforever enjoying grazing the good ole days.

[rockpickerforever]

You bet, jamesp. Reminiscing.

I actually went back to see what some of my old PB photos in old posts were showing. They are not saying "temporarily unavailable" they actually show up. Although on my phone, they do not look blurry. I know they do on the PC. At least, they did last I looked. Damn PB!

[Pat]

Can we get those photos up again? Tommy

[knave]

Giggling like a little kid here!