Danna Staaf
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dannastaaf.bsky.social
Danna Staaf
@dannastaaf.bsky.social
1.8K followers 210 following 1.3K posts
https://www.dannastaaf.com/
Author, artist, speaker with a fondness for cephalopods. Books:
🦑 Monarchs of the Sea
👩‍🔬 The Lady and the Octopus
🐣 Nursery Earth
🐙 The Lives of Octopuses and Their Relatives
Newsletter: https://buttondown.com/dannastaaf
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dannastaaf.bsky.social
Danna Staaf @dannastaaf.bsky.social · Jan 27
this may be the pinnacle of my science communication career
How to make a cephalopod. (With cartoony drawings) 1. Remove limbs. (Smiling human with dotted lines at shoulders and hips) 2. Attach to lips. (Human with flat mouth expression, just head and torso. Arms and legs are floating above with arrows pointing from them to lips) 3. See? It works. (Smiling human cephalopod with arms and legs around mouth. Drawing of an octopus shows anatomical similarity.)
dannastaaf.bsky.social
I share some raw notebook pages from the Okinawa cephalopod conference in this month's OctoPost! (I'd hoped to post more during the conference itself, but the international travel kinda wrecked me and I'm still recovering.) 🦑🐙
buttondown.com/dannastaaf/a...
The OctoPost: New Comic Book Edition & Conference Notes
I just got back from the Cephalopod International Advisory Council (CIAC, pronounced “kayak”) meeting in Okinawa, Japan. The trip was amazing and exhausting;...
buttondown.com
November 5, 2025 at 11:05 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
I discovered these layers in an old art file. Dear past me, I think you need to lie down and perhaps take an ibuprofen
Low resolution screenshot of the layers in a drawing program (krita, for the curious). The layers are named rplepoly, trilobit, and (in Group 2) drawnin.
October 21, 2025 at 1:50 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Fact!
A picture of the Apollo lunar command module, with red lines drawn over it to turn in into a fish. This was very easy to do as it is already fish shaped.
October 16, 2025 at 3:48 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Today's #Paleoctober prompt was my baby Plectronoceras, so I had to add it to the #inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober mashup. They all played nicely: the gravity of the black hole makes things ragged, and Plectro is already my non-human OC.
Small pen on paper drawing of two animals being drawn into a black hole. One is Plectronoceras, the earliest known cephalopod, a tiny creature with a curved shell and a worried eye. Several of its ten arms are normal length and the others are wildly stretched out. The second animal is a Queen Alexandra's Birdwing, the largest butterfly in the world. She is trying unsuccessfullly to fly away from the black hole, while her hindwings and legs and abdomen are elongated and ragged. The prompts are written on the side: ragged, Queen Alexandra's birdwing, black hole, as a non-human, Plectronoceras.
October 16, 2025 at 4:30 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
The Worm represents flexibility, adaptability, surprise, determination. Reversed: hunger, greed, traps, unchecked growth. (A sand striker can grow almost 10ft. The spacecraft entering its jaws represents its broad diet and large appetite.) #inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober
A pen on paper drawing of a tarot card named THE WORM and numbered XXII. The open jaws of a sand striker or trapjaw worm are in the center, emerging from the sand. Underneath the sand is a very long sinuous segmented worm. Important fact: the main body of a worm is called its TRUNK. A small Apollo lunar module is entering the jaws. The prompts are written to the right of the card: trunk, sand striker, spacecraft, tarot card.
October 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
What is going on here on day 13 of #inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober? My daughter took one look and said "Oh, it's drinking blood." 😬
The banded sugar ant is quite capable of killing other ants with formic acid, but idk, this one looks kind of sad...
A simple pen on paper drawing of two ants with a satellite dish in the background. One ant is dead and one is alive; the live one is drinking from a droplet that I definitely assumed was water or nectar before I showed it to my daughter.
October 15, 2025 at 4:05 AM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
jesskeatingbooks.bsky.social
Today in cutest thing ever -- did you know that the star Betelgeuse has a *companion star* and it's called Betelbuddy?!

BETELBUDDY!! ✨
earthsky.org/space/new-de...
New details about Betelbuddy, Betelgeuse’s companion star
earthsky.org
October 14, 2025 at 1:16 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
I love this book. I want to live in it. The characters are a delight, the plot is gripping, and most of all the biological worldbuilding blew me away. Giant toads with hot springs inside their mouths! Migratory mountain ranges! Actual sundogs!
hisiheyah.bsky.social Angela H @hisiheyah.bsky.social · May 27
My book came out today!! Here are some pages I'm proud of. I hope you'll join Lu and Ren on their adventures, whether at your local bookstore or at your library. :)

#comics #graphicnovel #kidlit
Photo of the cover, back cover, and case cover of the middle grade fantasy graphic novel, LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY Photo of a spread from LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY Photo of a spread from LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY Photo of a spread from LU AND REN'S GUIDE TO GEOZOOLOGY
October 14, 2025 at 6:45 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
I think we can safely assume this razor clam is shredded from all that exercise shredding (and playing saxophone). Day 12 #inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober catchup
A small and simple pen on paper drawing of a clam riding a skateboard and playing a saxophone under a partial solar eclipse. The prompts are written on the right right of the drawing: shredded, Pacific razor clam, eclipse, playing an instrument.
October 14, 2025 at 3:49 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Catching up with day 11 of #Inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober . . . In which asteroid witches threaten to throw live spider into cauldron, unaware they are falling victim to sting operation! (Look, sometimes the prompts don't fit together all that well 😆)
Pen on paper drawing of two witches standing over a large cauldron on a small asteroid. They are smiling and holding a large spider over the cauldron, whose legs are braced against the cauldron rim. Two other spiders peek around from the other side of the asteroid, ready to join their undercover partner in arresting the witches.
October 13, 2025 at 11:06 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Today's #Inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober mashup is a patch!
A very obviously hand-drawn patch in the same triangular shape as the Artemis II mission patch. Where the earth is on the original, this patch has a circular radar sweep. Where a red flight path twists across the original, a huge earthworm follows the same trajectory. The background is a starry night sky. Where the astronauts' names are in the original, the prompts are written: sweep, Artemis II, earthworm, at night.
October 11, 2025 at 5:05 AM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
stomachlining.bsky.social
Today in #CephalopodAwarenessDays: #Squittleday! Today honors squid & cuttlefish. This should be done every day imo, I'll take what I can get..

FUN FACT: Cuttlefish have been my favorite creature since I was 5. I fell for them HARD. Here is Ze Frank with TRUE FACTS:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDwO...
True Facts About The CuttleFish
YouTube video by Ze Frank
www.youtube.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:40 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Flamboyant cuttlefish are heavier (less buoyant) than other cuttles, which is why they "walk" on the sea floor most of the time instead of swimming. This poor little pal can't float up to visit the nebula! 🥺 #Inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober
Pen on paper drawing of a fantastical space scene. Two happy-looking cuttlefish float among stars, planets, and a nebula. Below them, a teary-eyed flamboyant cuttlefish is grounded on a planet, reaching wistfully upward. The prompts on one side read: heavy, flamboyant cuttlefish, nebula, angst.
October 10, 2025 at 1:21 AM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
fossilforager.bsky.social
Whale Fall pin 🦀🐋🦑
A photo of a large gold-plated enamel pin photographed on top of a lichen-covered rock. The enamel pin features a whale skeleton covered with various deep sea creatures, such as octopuses, hagfish, a giant isopod, a crab, and chimaeras.
October 9, 2025 at 5:29 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Yesterday's #inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge #OC_tober mashup!
A pen on paper drawing of a small Budgett's frog riding a very large fly. The words "it is Wednesday, my dudes" are flying back from the frog to indicate how quickly they are traveling. The frog is barely holding on by the reins. The prompts are listed below: reckless/bee-killer robber fly/propulsion/meme redraw.
October 9, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
cephalopodsdaily.bsky.social
It's #WorldOctopusDay!

While I already have a post for #OCTOtober, here's a bonus of some octopus shitposts from personal collection
"Is it really worth it?" meme. Text says "is it really worth it?" and below it is two pictures. The left picture is a flapjack octopus (Opisthoteuthis sp.), probably Opisthoteuthis californiana. It is a small, adorable orange octopus. It has arms that are all connected with gelatinous webbing. It is big round black eyes with orange pupils, and two adorable fins on its mantle that look like cute little eats. The image on the right is a scoop or mango ice cream, which vaguely has the same shape as the octopus. The octopus is circled with a red circle and a red arrow extends from the circle pointing to the ice cream. A photo of a Curled Octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) sitting in a tide pool with its head and mantle out of the water. It is surrounded by mussels. Text in a black box says "unbothered. moisturized. happy. in my lane. focused. flourishing." A "live slug reaction" meme, except it is "Live Octopus Reaction" and the image is a low quality image of a glowing sucker octopus (Stauroteuthis syrtensis) Its arms are going out and down with its webbing out. Its fins are tucked in. It is staring at the camera as if you just caught it eating your potato chips at 3 AM. A blurry photo of a Curled Octopus (Eledone cirrhosa) in a shallow pool on a beach. The octopus is partially out of the water, with its head sticking out and facing forward to the camera. Its arms are spread out. The camera is almost level, slightly from above, so it almost looks like the octopus took the photo, although the photographer's reflection is visible. The beach is brown and muddy. The octopus is orange, with the part out of the water being shiny. A grey, transparent box with white text is going across the image to help make the image look like a Snapchat message. The text says "hey i think you accidentally left me on read haha"
October 9, 2025 at 12:05 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Happy #WorldOctopusDay! My newsletter today has a guide for teaching tricks to your pet octopus 🐙🦑 or maybe it's research about octopus arm flexibility in the wild, read it and find out!
buttondown.com/dannastaaf/a...
The OctoPost: Happy World Octopus Day!
Cephalopod News October 8th is World Octopus Day, and the octopuses have given us plenty to talk about! The full scope of octopus arm flexibility during...
buttondown.com
October 8, 2025 at 5:43 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
THANK YOU 🤣 this is the balm my soul needs after witnessing the horrors of those "octopus skeletons" in Halloween stores...
A sketch of an octopus with an inset photo of an octopus skeleton decoration. The octopus looks upset. It is surrounded by thoughts: Help I'm full of bones how do you live like this My eyes are stuck pointing in the same direction but frankly that's the least of my worries I can't squeeze my mantle for jet propulsion :( This body only had one shape!! My arms are stuffed with muscles to move all these bones Do I have suckers? I don't even care
October 8, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
sicb.bsky.social
#WorldOctopusDay 2025- Takotsubo and #Optic Glands: The Poetic Deaths of #Octopuses
with our flagship journal ICB author Z.Yan Wang
blog by Colleen Heck

learn more about the extraordinary circumstances of this species death
integrativeandcomparativebiology.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/w...

#science
October 8, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
americanbeetles.bsky.social
I love cooloola monsters but let’s be honest this is an antipodean stenopelmatid. Ninos de la Terra Nullius en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammopel...
October 8, 2025 at 2:32 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Per my daughter's request, the #Inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge mashup now includes #OC_tober 😁
I'm actually ridiculously proud of this one 🌊🧑‍🚀
Black pen on paper drawing of a journal cover in the style of the European Space Agency bulletin. Text reads "number 7, October '25, bulletin" and "Ocean Space Agency." There is a little OSA logo like the ESA logo but with a wave. The picture is of two astronauts floating in orbit around an earth-like planet. One astronaut is a starfish and the other is a scaly foot gastropod. Text next to the magazine lists the prompts for October 7: starfish, scaly foot gastropod, space agency, magazine cover.
October 8, 2025 at 2:49 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
it's baby 🥹
pbeasleyhall.bsky.social Perry Beasley-Hall, PhD @pbeasleyhall.bsky.social · Oct 8
Cooloola monsters are weird, chunky insects endemic to South East Queensland, Australia. They're probably related to king crickets (Anostostomatidae), but not much is known about their evolution. The wingless females live permanently underground. #EverydayEnsifera

📸: Visit Gympie Region
A pale insect with tiny eyes digging underground. It looks almost like a fat potato with legs. Source: https://www.visitgympieregion.com.au/great-experiences/wildlife/
October 8, 2025 at 2:22 AM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
A quick doodle mashup today for #Inktober #Invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge
Small pen on paper drawing of a moth with its wings folded. The left wing has two piercings. The dark parts of both wings are decorated with patterns like constellations in a night sky. You know, if you squint.
October 7, 2025 at 5:13 AM
Reposted by Danna Staaf
jmkorhonen.fi
This is most definitely *not* the lesser of any two weevils
dannastaaf.bsky.social Danna Staaf @dannastaaf.bsky.social · Oct 5
Sure we've all seen the man, and the rabbit...but have you ever seen the palmetto weevil in the moon? It's kind of murky 😆 #invertober2025 #inktober #SpacetoberChallenge
October 6, 2025 at 2:42 PM
dannastaaf.bsky.social
Sometimes the prompts are unexpectedly compatible. I'd never realized before that lobsters, spacecraft, and deer ALL have antennae! #Inktober #invertober2025 #SpacetoberChallenge
Black pen on paper drawing of a deer and a lobster riding in the dish of the Voyager spacecraft. The lobster's antennae are tangled with the antlers of the deer, who looks disgruntled.
October 6, 2025 at 4:06 AM