Danna Staaf (@dannastaaf.bsky.social)

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Jan 27, 2024, 12:50 AM Pinned

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 Oct 13, 2026, 2:06 AM

Let's celebrate #FossilDay, the last #InternationalCephalopodAwarenessDays, with some old drawings!
- Scaphites is a paper-clip-shaped ammonite
- Snakestones are ammonites carved to look like coiled serpents
- Aegirocassis was a giant arthropod that coexisted with early shelled cephalopods

Simple ink sketch of an ammonite drawn to look like Clippy from Microsoft Office. It has a speech bubble saying, "It looks like you're evolving. Would you like help?"

Detailed ink drawing of two ammonite fossils side by side. On the left, a serpent's head emerges from the opening of the shell. On the right, a normal ammonite with siphon and arms emerges, and it's scratching its head with one arm.

Pencil sketch of a jolly-looking Aegirocassis, a giant extinct arthropod, with three small shelled cephalopods climbing on it.

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 7:11 PM

The quote above is from International Cephalopod Awareness Days! And yes I will be celebrating Fossil Day later today . . . www.cephsinaction.org/activities/o...

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 7:06 PM

I missed #KrakenDay yesterday on account of belatedly celebrating Squittleday, so today in honor of "all the fantastical cephalopods of myth, movies, literature and legend" here is How To Draw An Octopus Merperson

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 4:01 AM

my jaw actually dropped 😭🤏

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 2:33 AM

Yay! And thank you! I agree, it feels very spooky-themed even though that wasn't my original intention 👻

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 1:04 AM

I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAID THE WRONG PLAY 💀 Thank you so much for the gracious correction. My only excuse is that I saw Midsummer and Shrew recently only two days apart so they must have got jumbled in my fingers. I'm so glad you liked the joke and casting, hehe!

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 12, 2026, 12:44 AM

It's rather obscure: the end of the Kodama jujutsu alt text is "Both look very fierce (though they be but little)," an allusion to "Though she be but little, she is fierce" from The Taming of the Shrew. I'm glad you asked and I'm so happy you enjoy the gumball machine! 😄🤏🦑

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 11, 2026, 9:27 PM

Happy belated #Squittleday, October 10th, on which we celebrate the ten-armed squid and cuttlefish! I was in the woods yesterday, but here a few favorites from the archives 🦑🥂 (anyone spot the alt text Shakespeare reference?)

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 11:13 PM

This sent me hunting for a worm appreciation day or parasite appreciation day, and I can hardly believe it, but I don't think they exist yet????

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 9:31 PM

Yesterday!! Ngl I did consider posting some argonauts today, but didn't want to engender confusion...

@dannastaaf.bsky.social Oct 9, 2026, 8:59 PM

Though lesser-known than World Octopus Day, the International Cephalopod Days continue today, October 9th, with #NautilusNight! Here are some nautiluses I've drawn! 🥳