Squids and octopi are two of the smartest marine organisms in the abysmal sea. They are cousin species in the group Cephalopoda (pronunciation: seh·fuh·laa·puh·duh; meaning: “head foot”). However, some distinctive features can help differentiate the outstanding octopus from the spectacular squid.
- How they look
An octopus has eight arms that are evenly placed around its body and a rounded head. Octopuses can range in length from 1 centimeter (about the size of a pencil tip✏️) to 9 meters (about the size of a school bus🚌)!
A squid has eight arms and two longer tentacles, as well as a triangular head. Squids range in length from 60 centimeters (about the size of your arm💪) to 20 meters (about the size of two school buses🚌🚌)!
- Where they live
While the home of octopuses will almost always be found in dark crevices on the seafloor, squids can be found all over the open ocean, from shallow waters to deep depths.
- What they eat
Octopuses usually eat crustaceans from the ocean floor while squids usually feed on shrimp and small fish in the water column.
- Similarities
- Both octopi and squids live in saltwater from the topics to more temperate zones.
- Besides being members of Cephalopoda, both squids and octopuses can shoot ink to camouflage themselves from predators.
- They also both have suckers on their tentacles and use jet propulsion to swim through the ocean!