Attack of the Hexapus

[CalMeacham]

They caught a six-armed “octopus” off the coast of Wales:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080303/sc_afp/sciencebritainanimalhexapusoffbeat

It’s not that big a deal, since they think this is the result of accident or borth defect, and not a new species.
But it makes me think of Ray Harryhausen’s Quintopus. When he was animating the giant Octopus from It Came From Beneath the Sea, he only gave it five arms, figuring that bodody would notice the shortage. They didn’t.

[Giles]

@CalMeacham

But it makes me think of Ray Harryhausen’s Quintopus. When he was animating the giant Octopus from It Came From Beneath the Sea, he only gave it five arms, figuring that bodody would notice the shortage. They didn’t.

Should that be “pentapus”? – Greek+Greek, rather than Latin+Greek. But “hexapus” is right, though biology already has Hexapods.

[Really_Not_All_That_Bright]

@Giles

Should that be “pentapus”? – Greek+Greek, rather than Latin+Greek. But “hexapus” is right, though biology already has Hexapods.

There’s nothing wrong with mixing Latin and Greek elements. Regardless of its provenance, you’re still just making up a word - so why worry too much about keeping it pure?

[Spice_Weasel]

It’s tentacular!

[Q.E.D]

@Giles

Should that be “pentapus”?

Not unless you mean five arms, instead of six.

[CalMeacham]

Not unless you mean five arms, instead of six.

He does – read a bit more closely. It’s referring back to the Ray Harryhausen five-armed "octopus’ model.

[Wile_E]

I thought this was going to be about a six-legged cat.

[DocCathode]

I can’t be the only one reminded of Quest For Glory- Shadows Of Darkness. It had a hexapus or two.

RE Harryhausen

Actually he did it because he estimated a cost of $10,000 per huge mechanical tentacle. The studio would only give him $50,000 more.

[CalMeacham]

huge mechanical tentacle

HUGE mechanical tentacle??
Based on the size of Harryhausen’s other models, I’ll bet the tentacles were 18" or less in length.

[DocCathode]

@CalMeacham

HUGE mechanical tentacle??
Based on the size of Harryhausen’s other models, I’ll bet the tentacles were 18" or less in length.

I’ll take that bet. I’ve been a huge Harryhausen fan since I saw Sinbad as a tot. While most of his work was in Dynamation with small models, the quintapus was a large mechanical effect. It may take me a bit to find a cite. But it’s obvious when you think about it. Would the man who made and animated the medusa of Clash Of The Titans skimp on a detail and hope the audience didn’t notice?

[CalMeacham]

Interesting note:

Ever budget-conscious, producer Katzman allowed Ray Harryhausen only enough money to animate six of the octopus’ arms and two were cut off. Thus, Harryhausen jokingly dubbed this creature a “sextapus” (Reference: The documentary “The Harryhausen Chronicles”, which is available on the DVDs of various Harryhausen films). The number of arms is incorrectly described as five in various sources, including A Pictorial History of Science Fiction Films, by Jeff Rovin, p. 63, Citadel Press, Secaucus, New Jersey.

from here: It Came from Beneath the Sea - Wikipedia
My copy of From the Land Beyond Beyond(also by Rovin) and every other source I’ve seen, pre-internet says that there were five arms. Rovin interviewed Harryhausen, and is photographed with him and his models. It’s hard to believe he got a detail like this wrong. i note that the iMDB says six arms, as well.
Nothing, by the way, in any of my books or on the internet sites I’ve visited gives the size of the model Harryhausen used, and there aren’t any pictures of it outside the movie. But even Harryhausen’s Brontosaurus model from One Million Years B.C. only stands about 1 foot tall. I stand by my estimate on the fauxctopus.

[Mangetout]

Hmmm… Hexapus, eh?

It’s welcome to join my travelling circus of animal freaks - which already includes the TriDog and the UniHorse.

I’ve got nothing against its six tentacles…