Squid Vs Squid Research Paper

Squids and Octopi may be two of the most fascinating and unique creatures to live on the planet. With each animal having close to over two hundred different species, two that distinguish themselves from all the other species are the giant octopus and the giant squid. A misconception often made is that these two animals are the same and just have different names. While they both belong to the same class of Cephalopoda, they are in fact two completely different species both belonging to a different order (Wassilieff). While these animals both share similar characteristics, they also have a lot of distinct differences such as anatomy, size, reproduction and lifespan, location, and behavioral patterns. The biggest and most notable characteristics that octopi and squid share in terms of anatomy is that both have a beak to eat with and are invertebrates. Invertebrates are animals that do not possess a single bone in its body. This is a characteristic that all animals belonging to the Cephalopoda class share, although, “Squids possess a stiff structure known as a pen that acts as a flexible backbone” (Vancouver). Other than not having bones, the structure and …show more content…
Squid also differ from octopi in how they deposit their eggs. Squid lay their eggs by attaching them to seaweed on the ocean floor where octopi lay their eggs in a den (Vancouver). Squid and octopi can be found in almost every part of the ocean. Just about every specie of both animals are found in “salty water from the tropics to the temperate zones” (Jasuja). Octopus tend to swim along the floors and live in dens while squid swim in the open ocean. While a lot of squid and octopi can be found in shallow waters along the coast, the giant squid is a creature that lives along the bottom of the ocean floor at many depths under. The colossal squid also lives at great depths under the ocean but are found in cooler