By Trish Weaver, Collections Manager for Geology & Paleontology

Research & Collections

by Trish Weaver

One of the things I enjoy most about my job is every now and then someone brings or sends me something I have never seen before. This week’s wonders were octopus stylets.

Bet you’re thinking what in the world are octopus stylets? Are they little enclosures for small octopus? Trendy clothing with small cephalopod designs? Though both seem like reasonable answers, unfortunately both are wrong.

Octopus stylets are rudimentary shells found within the soft tissues of some groups of octopus (not all octopus have them). They are paired (left and right), serve as support for head retractor muscles and it’s not every day one receives them in the mail.

Want to know how old your octopus is but are too embarrassed to ask? Stylets have growth lines just like tree rings. You could count them. Of course doing so would kill your octopus.

These stylets are from…

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