15 Interesting Facts About Squid

  1. Squids are marine animals that belong to the family of octopuses. Their other close relatives are cuttlefish and nautilus. 
  2. Squids have a mantle and 8 arms like octopuses. However, they can be distinguished from octopuses through 2 fins, 2 tentacles, and a bony structure, called a pen. Octopuses do not have any such feature. (Source)
  3. Squids are known as one of the most intelligent invertebrate animals. They have proved their reasoning power by locating and capturing their prey. (Source
  4. Colossal squids have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. The diameter of their eyes is 27 cm (11 in). This big eye helps the animal to avoid its main predator, the sperm whale. The next largest animal eye belongs to the Swordfish, which is only 1/3 (9 cm) of a squid eye. (Source)
  5. There is a considerable difference between the sizes of various species of squid. The length varies from 10 mm (0.4 in) of pygmy squid to 13 m (43 ft.) long giant squid. 
    A giant squid specimen
    Giant squid is the largest species of squid

  6. The colossal squid is not only the heaviest among squid but also the heaviest invertebrate animal. According to estimates, it can weigh up to 750 kg (1.650 lb).
  7. Squids are one of the few animals with in-built lenses in their eyes. These lenses can perform better than any human-made lens. (Source)
  8. Cannibalism is prevalent among squids. Giant squid and several other species of squid are known to eat one of their kind. (Source)
  9. Squids have special defensive techniques against predators (sharks, sealswhales, etc.). They use camouflage and eject a cloud of ink to retreat from their predators.
  10. Squids have three hearts. The two branchial hearts pump blood to the gills, where it takes oxygen and moves towards the systemic heart. The systemic heart then pumps this blood to other parts of the body.
  11. The blood color of the squid is blue. It is due to the presence of a copper-containing compound, hemocyanin, in squid blood.
  12. Squids have the fastest swimming speed among invertebrate animals. They can swim at a maximum speed of up to 25 mph.
  13. People in various parts of the world eat squids. Except for the beak and pen, all other body parts of squid are edible.
  14. More than 300 species of squid have been discovered so far. Various features enable them to live in both coastal and oceanic waters. 
  15. Unlike most other squids and octopuses that eject ink, a deep-sea squid Heteroteuthis disper shoots out bioluminescent clouds against predators. This procedure is known as “fire shooting”.

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