- Joined
- Dec 22, 2007
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- 526
If this comes to blows my money is on SOS, sorry monty, I'm sensing pent up rage.
How to cite this page: Maggy Wassilieff and Steve O’Shea. 'Octopus and squid', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 21-Sep-2007
URL: http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/SeaLife/OctopusAndSquid/en
Steve O'Shea;126062 said:I'll further disrespectfully disagree (seeing I'm the guy that wrote that text on that web site). The web site information is correct; the only real difference (for the sake of those here) between an octopus and squid is that squid have those circular rings and/or hooks arming their suckers. It's a fact. You can support the distinction between the two on the basis of essoteric detail, but it's horses for courses online these days, and 99% of the detail mentioned on TOL goes over the heads of 99% of the teuthologists out there also. Moreover, many of those characters/states cited as diagnostic of squid and/or octopuses are not unique to them (cross-check against the two lists).
A popular misconception is that squid have eight arms and two long tentacles, while octopus have eight arms and no tentacles. But this is not always the case. The only real difference between the two groups is that squid have hooked or saw-like suckers, and octopus do not.
dwhatley;126074 said:Steve,
Being academically challenged, it still occurs to me as a hobbiest that there is a more basic difference since many forms of octopus can be kept in aquaria but almost no species of squid. This would seem to suggest that there is a considerable difference in the biologics of two beasts.
Steve O'Shea;126095 said:True; there are probably many behavioural and physiological ttributes that differentiate the two groups also, but they're not much use when dealing with a dead animal. Also, only representatives of one of twelve families of octopuses have been kept live in aquaria for any length of time; most of the pelagic and bathyal groups/families have not.
Re all other posts, I'm not arguing with anyone here; it's just the most fundamental difference between both is hooks/rings and not (presence/absence criterion), as opposed to some variable expression of a character state.
Monty, I would have thought that all Sepia and Spirula had sucker rings. Is this not the case?
octokidwriter;126137 said:Dear me, what scientific tornado's have i caused with this simple thread!
Nobody will be surprised however, if i can no longer follow (once again and just keep on wondering how i will explain on paper the difference between octopus and squid to a ten-year-old, having been imposed the limit of not using more than three syllables
thanks for posting the picture of SOS. I now very firmly believe in his existence!
octokidwriter;126167 said:Thanks very much, this is really very useful. I think i must seem rather crazy to dig into and then try to write as accurately as possible with no background at all, but then again, i am having such a lot of fun with all this that it is worth while the effort.
octokidwriter;126312 said:here's some more:
is there any visible difference between "tentacle" and "arm" except for their lenght?
a squid sometimes loses his two tentacles and thus looks like an octopus in some cases, but can he grow them again as well?
how many octopus "species" (is that the correct word?) have already been found up to now, the numbers i find on internet seem to differ a lot?
can the ink of the squid and octopus also be used to create sepia ink?
oh, and btw, i can't play those movies, i've already been trying for weeksThales has some great videos of cuttlefish striking with their tentacles on his web site. Google for "daisy hill cuttle farm" and look at the videos.