Sea arrows
The squid, or sea arrow as it is sometimes called, is a cousin of the
octopus. Like the octopus it can change color and can shoot out a cloud
of ink. It also swims as an octopus does, by sucking in water and
squirting it out of a tube, like a jet.
But a squid is different from an octopus in a number of ways. A squid
has a long, pointed body with two fins at the tail end. An octopus has
no hard parts except for its jaws, but a squid has a slim, hard shell
inside its body. An octopus has eight arms, but a squid has ten. Two
of these arms are longer than the others.
While octopuses hunt by themselves, crawling over the sea bottom, squids
hunt in packs, swimming. And they shoot through the water faster than
most fish can swim.
Squids eat mostly fish, smaller squids, and small shrimps, crabs, and
lobsters. A squid darts after its prey and shoots out its two longest
arms. These arms seize the prey and pull it back into the squid’s mouth.
Then, with its powerful jaws, the squid chews the creature into small
pieces.
Although squids are ferocious hunters, they are also hunted themselves.
Large fish, sharks, seals, and many other creatures—including
people—eat them.
There are about 350 different kinds of squid. Some kinds of squid are
only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) long. Others are as much as twelve
feet (3.6 meters) long. One kind, the giant squid, is the largest
soft-bodied animal in the world.
A giant squid that was washed up on the shore in New Zealand had a body
that was nearly twenty-seven feet (8 m) long. Its arms were forty-seven
feet (14 m) long. All told, this giant squid was nearly seventy-four
feet (22 m) long! That’s as long as many of the biggest dinosaurs were!
Luckily for us, these real sea monsters are quite rare, and stay in the
deepest parts of the ocean.
squids and squid eggs
