The mysterious animal known as the squid has inspired ballads, art, fear, awe, and long-told stories for centuries. The mysterious Kraken has encouraged whispered stories after lights-out. Many assume that the only species of squid is the giant squid, reaching over 40 feet in officially recorded cases. However, there are over 300 documented species of squid, ranging in all of sizes. The scientific classification of one species, the fire squid, is as follows: Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Mollusca, Class: Cephalopoda, Order: Teuthida, Family: Pyroteuthidae, Genus: Pyroteuthis, Binomial Name: P. serrata. While this is the classification for one single species of squid, this paper will discuss the entire order of Teuthida. Ranging from the size of a pencil eraser to one of the largest organisms in the Kingdom Animalia, it is obvious how such daunting tales came to be told about the unexplained mystery of the squid.
Many different squid exist, and along with different species comes different looks, however, all squid are based on a basic body plan. The average squid species range from as tiny as 2 cm to as threatening as two metres in length. However, Teuthids range from the Antarctic up-to-14-metres Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) to the tiny less-than-one-inch Grass Squid (Pickfordiateuthis pulchella). The elongated body, also called the mantle, is slightly swollen near the middle and tapers to a blunt point. At this point is the head, at which point the tentacles begin. Also at the head is the mouth of the squid, which has a sharp, bird-like beak used like teeth. All species of squid possess long, cylindrical bodies and an internal, blade-shaped gladius. A gladius is made of chitin, like human fingernails, and lends s...
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...t squid eyes ever documented had a diameter of 27 cm, bigger than a soccer ball. However, the squid observed was not fully grown, and therefore it is extremely likely that there are even larger eyes out there in the world. Teuthids have many unique talents, and when they are combined, they create a powerful force, whether defensive or offensive.
All in all, squids are an interesting topic. I enjoyed researching squids, especially the Giant and Colossal species. I found the fact that there is still so much intrigue and mystery surrounding the squid remarkable. A new fact for me, among others, was that squids have the very largest documented eyes in the Animal Kingdom. The way in which Teuthids change color was also of intrigue to me. Teuthids, squids, Krakens, Luscas, etc., continue to be a source of intrigue worldwide, and I am certainly one for finding out more.
Because of its size and abundance, T. californicus is commonly regarded as the insect of the sea. This creature is generally very small, from 1-3 mm in size as adults. They are cylindrically shaped, and have a segmented body (head, thorax, abdomen) though no noticeable division between body regions (Powlik 1966). Each segment of the body has a pair of legs. They use their 'legs' to propel themselves through the water in short rapid jerks. They have 2 pairs of long feathered antennae, a chitin us exoskeleton and a single eye in the middle of their head, this simple eye can only differentiate between light and dark.
One hundred and fifty million years ago, large aquatic species of reptile such as the Plesiosaur dominated the ocean, and were pre-eminent predators of the sea. The branch of now extinct Plesiosaurs, or ‘near lizards’, evolved into variant closely related species specialised to take different niches in the food chain. Such species of Plesiosaur include the phenotypically similar Plesiosauroid and Pliosauroid. The physiological adaptations of the long necked variant, the Plesiosauroid, as it relates to deep sea diving, will be addressed in depth.
The outer tentacles probe for a potential meal, then the inner sensors decide if the prey is edible. They are covered in thick, blackish-brown, water-repellent fur, and have large scaled feet and a long, thick tail. This animal is by far one of the most interesting animals in the world, despite looking like a cross between a rat and an octopus. The way it behaves and utilizes its star nose is fascinating and makes it very unique when compared to other animals.
There is a squid-like monster seen off the coasts of Norway that is a mile and a half in circumference named a Kraken. Legend says these creatures have the ability to squirt their blinding venom into the victim’s eye to cripple them. (...
“Tentacles” by Roland Smith is the second novel in the “Cryptid Hunters” series and was released in 2009. Uncle Wolfe 's latest project is to go to New Zealand to find a giant squid, and the gigantic freighter he has rented for the trip may just be haunted. Someone on the trip is determined to sabotage their trip. Grace and Marty may just be the next victims, if they keep poking their noses into things.
A villain is truly just a victim whose story has not been told. This is clearly shown in The Creature in Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” When the story states, “My organs were indeed harsh, but supple; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones, yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease. It was as the ass and the lap-dog; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate, although his manners were rude, deserved better treatment than blows and execration.” (Shelley, 134). The monster feels that people should judge him on his personality and emotions inside instead of his appearance on the outside. Frankenstein’s creature is truly just a victim of circumstance. No individual is born evil,
My invertebrate research paper is about Dumbo octopus, also called Grimpoteuthis. Dumbo octopuses are type of mollusks. In the category of mollusks it is divided into smaller groups, and they are part of the cephalopods. These octopuses got their name from Disney’s film Dumbo. This is because of their fin that extends from the mantle above each eye.
Soft corals are grouped in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, and order Alcyonacea. Their distinguishing characteristic is that their polyps always bear eight tentacles which are on both edges fringed by rows of pinnules (Fabricius and De’ath, 2002). The common name “soft coral” comes from the fact that they have no massive external skeleton as compared to the more commonly studied hard corals.
Squidward Tentacles is an employee at the Krusty Krab. He is a 34 year old male. He resides in Bikini Bottom. His hobbies include playing his clarinet and painting multiple pictures which he has false hope will one day be published in some museum. He has hatred for going to work, and is horrible with customer service. He exhibits a strong desire to fit in with a higher caste than himself. There have been many episodes though where when given the chance to prove himself worthy of a higher caste he will retreat to a safer place like his house. His esteem level seems very low. He never leaves his house other than for work either. He hates being social and that’s very obvious in every action Squidward carries out. He rarely dates and when he does there is never a second date. He is a healthy man of his age. He really doesn’t have many friends. There is his two neighbors Spongebob Squarepants and Patrick Star, they want to be friends with him but Squidward can barely tolerate either of them. When he is sad he usually turns to his music, painting, or bubble baths which he takes very often. His life goal or aspiration is to be a famous artist and musician. He’s a very smart individual but has absolutely horrible social skills.
Figure 3: Part of a beak of preserved squid. Dotted line reveals the part of the beak that was broken off.
Sousounis, k., A. Ogura, and P.A. Tsonis. 2013. Transcriptome Analysis of Nautilus and Pygmy Squid Developing Eye Provides Insights in Lens and Eye Evolution. PLoS ONE 8(10): e78054
The Mysterious Giant Squid About 80 percent of the Earth is covered in water. With the majority of life on this planet residing in the liquid we like to call the essence of life, we as humans represent a minority on this planet. Much of the underwater world remains a mystery to us, with the giant squid being one of the greatest mysteries of them all. How close are we to actually solving the mystery of this deep water giant? For the first known citation of one of these creatures, you would have to go back to November of 1861, when crew members of the French dispatch steamer Alecton spotted what appeared to be a large sea monster off the coast of the Canary Islands.
First of all, an octopus is a cellapod. Which means it has a soft body, and no bones. An octopus also has eight arms, large useful eyes, and suction cups. ( Octopuses and Squid, page 6 by: Tori Miller.) All of these traits are mostly used for hunting. Eight arms come in handy when your prey is fast and can get away easily, large eyes are useful when you need to see in the dark or the depths of the ocean, and suction cups are used when they need to grab hold of something.( Octopuses Squid, page 14.) ( National Geographic, Octopus Facts.) Octopuses have blue blood caused by copper and bag like bodies. When born they're 1/4 of an inch and don't rely on...
Porifera is the most simplistic phylum under the kingdom Animalia. The sponges have no tissue layers, but instead an interior and exterior layer with a gelatinous middle layer that separates the two. They are the only phylum with asymmetrical symmetry. Throughout the advancing phyla it will be shown this trait is lost. Porifera lacks a proper digestive system, but a canal system allows the sponges to filter feed. Along the inside of a sponge, flagella pump water through the sponge’s body. This process brings in oxygen and other small organisms and then flows out the top of the sponge, the osculum, removing waste by diffusion. Sponges lack a circulatory system, as does many of the first couple of phyla. A coinciding factor could be their small size. A nervous system is also missing, but very basic nerve cells within the pores sense the water currents. Gas exchange occurs through these pores. Reproduction in sponges can be asexual by budding, gammation, or fragmentation. Some sponges can also have sexual reproduction occur as an egg gets released and fertilized in the open water by free floating sperm. After this stage they cling onto rock and begin their sessile, basic, life....