SQUID By Alex Garcia Ms Weber Period 9

SQUID By: Alex Garcia Ms. Weber Period 9

So what is a squid anyways? ? • It’s a phylum mollusca • It’s also a carnivorous invertebrate that belongs in the cephalopod family • Squids can reach from 30 to 45 cm (12 to 18 inches) and up to 33 to 60 feet long • Giant squid is almost the size of a regular school bus • A squid can weigh from 700 mg up to 900 kg • Their group name is school (for example: school of fish) • It has 8 arms and 2 longer feeding tentacles (in total 10 arms) • Its head is shaped like a cigar and has lateral (on the sides) fins • It has a beak similar to what a parrot’s beak looks like

Physical characteristics Squids have the largest eyes reaching up to 10 inches in diameter (similar to the size of a beach volleyball) They use their lateral fins in order to move around with propulsion of water or in other words water goes into the mantle and then out the back The purpose of the jaws is to kill prey and tear it into easy digestible pieces The ink sac is where the ink is stored for when the opportunity to escape from danger is needed It has 2 hearts which helps pump blood around the body

Feeding Time Squid most of the time eat fish, crustaceans ( for ex. crabs and shrimp), and even other squids They capture their food by first using their two feeding tentacles, then hold the prey with the other eight arms, and lastly using its parrot –like beak to bite it into smaller pieces so that it can digest its meal Sadly they are also eaten by sharks, whales, other squids, and humans Habitat Squids can be found near continental and island slopes such as from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean

Reproduction Sexual reproduction takes place by the exchange of sperms, from the male , and eggs , from the female After the eggs are fertilized, the female will hide them under rocks or in holes After 4 to eight weeks the eggs hatch, and the baby squid will feed on plankton until adulthood

Adaptations Just like octopuses, they blend themselves in their background to avoid being eaten by using their pigment cells called chromatophores which expand or contract to change color Another way is releasing the cloud of ink, which is called sipia, before fleeing from its predator. This temporarily confuses the predator while the squid escapes Some species can even emit their own light with the help of special light producing organs called photophores (it looks like it’s glowing a blue light)

Mystery of the Giant Squid Revealed!! http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=kjp_juml. O 3 A This squid was found in Wellington, New Zealand in 2008 but was barely alive.