Sometimes you may hear a question about how the squid differs from the octopus? In fact, they belong to the order of cephalopods, however, there are significant differences between them. These marine inhabitants prefer to spend most of their lives inland, but there are cases when they ascended to the surface. About how the squid differs from the octopus will be described in detail in the proposed article.
Eight legs
Considering the question of how the squid differs from the octopus, one should study the features of each of these representatives of the sea depths. Let's start with this.
Octopus, or octopus, is the most famous squad of cephalopods today. The octopuses, which will be discussed later, are representatives of the suborder incirrina, belong to benthic animals.
There is also a suborder cirrina, whose representatives are pelagic animals that live in the water column. It should be noted that most representatives of this suborder are found exclusively at great depths. The name "octopus" from ancient Greek is translated as "eight legs."
It should be noted that there are poisonous representatives of this species. For example, Blue-Ringed Octopus. It belongs to one of the most poisonous animals on the planet. Its poison is dangerous even for humans and can lead to death.
Description
These representatives of the deep sea have a soft, short, oval body behind. The mouth opening is located in the same place where the tentacles begin their growth. They are collected in a so-called mantle and look like a leather bag with pleats. The octopus has two powerful jaws in its mouth that look like the beak of a macaw parrot. The throat is located in the throat - this is a special grater designed for grinding food.
From the head of this mollusk eight tentacles grow, which are a kind of "hands." They are interconnected by a thin membrane. The tentacles have several rows of suction cups (from one to three). The total number of them in an adult can reach more than 2000. Using these suction cups, octopuses can keep their prey. Each of them has a holding force of an average of 100 grams, in total this turns out to be a very impressive figure.
Internal organs
The octopus has as many as three hearts: the main thing is pumping blue blood through the body, and two auxiliary (gill) pass it through the gills. These cephalopods are unique in their own way. Due to the fact that they do not have a skeleton, they can significantly change their shape. They also have the ability to mimic. That is disguised. They change not only the shape, but also the color of their body. The octopus uses these features when hunting fish or when it is in danger.
As scientists have found, the brain of the octopus is the most highly developed among all invertebrates. They have very well developed vision, moreover, they can perceive sound and even infrasound. On the tentacles of the octopus, in addition to the suction cups, there are about 10 thousand taste buds that determine whether an object is edible or not.
Due to the set of their characteristics, these cephalopods are excellent hunters. Adults are considered the dominant representatives of the seabed and depths. The danger to them is only large fish and some sharks.
Squid
Consider the second representative of the deep sea. What is the difference between a squid and an octopus? The former belong to the order of ten-armed cephalopods. On average, these marine inhabitants have a size of 25 to 50 cm. However, there are representatives reaching up to 17 m. These are, for example, giant squids, which amaze with their size. They are the largest invertebrate animals on the planet.
Squids have ten tentacles, which are divided into pairs. As a result of evolutionary processes, the fourth pair lengthened compared to the rest. Like the octopus, this cephalopod tentacle has suction cups, but they are much smaller. Squids have a torpedo, streamlined body. This form allows them to develop a very high speed.
Description
Answering the question, what is the difference between octopus and squid, "it is necessary to say that in the latter the cartilaginous arrow runs along the whole body. It is a kind of body base. The color of the squid is different, some representatives of this species change it with small electric charges. They generate electricity on their own.
Squids breathe through the comb gills, and their main sensory organs are the eyes, papillae and a pair of statocysts, which are responsible for balance and depth determination. These cephalopods also have three hearts, like the octopuses, but it is associated with three pairs of main tentacles, and not with the gills. Squids have the ability to regenerate. That is, if he loses any part of his body, over time it will recover.
If we compare who is bigger - squid or octopus, then it can be argued that at present the largest representative discovered by man is the first of them. Its length reaches about 17 m, however, according to scientists, this is not the limit.
Of course, quite large octopuses can be found in the depths of the ocean, however, in comparison with giant squids, they do not look very large. Although they themselves are also very impressive in size. You can clearly see in the photo how the squid differs from the octopus.
Currently, to get acquainted with these representatives of the underwater world, you can visit the aquarium. Here you can immediately see the difference between these mollusks, and there is also the opportunity to appreciate their extraordinary beauty.