Squid
Click to enlarge image
Squid, Genus: Loligo
Image: Dr Isobel Bennett
© Australian Museum
© Australian Museum
Fast Facts
-
Classification
- Genus
- Loligo
- Family
- Loliginidae
- Order
- Myopsida
- Superorder
- Decapodiformes
- Subclass
- Coleoidea
- Class
- Cephalopoda
- Phylum
- Mollusca
- Kingdom
- Animalia
-
- Size Range
- 25 cm
The elongated, streamlined body of the squid enables it to move quickly through the water. Often occurring in schools, it swims by flapping its fins or by jet propulsion using its siphon.
Identification
Like cuttlefishes, the squid has 10 tentacles. Two longer feeding tentacles, covered with four rows of suckers, are curled up underneath them and these can quickly uncoil to grab prey. The skeleton or 'pen' is composed of chitin and looks like clear plastic.
Deepwater squid species
Image: Dr Isobel Bennett© Australian Museum
Habitat
Squid live in intertidal estuaries, coastal waters and oceans.
Distribution
Squid are found in southern Australian waters.
Other behaviours and adaptations
If threatened or disturbed, the squid can change colour and expel a blob of purple ink, which acts as a decoy while the animal quickly escapes.
