Squid

The next mollusk family is the squid. 

Squid size varies greatly, from 8.5 inches to 551 inches! Generally they have 8 arms and 2 tentacles arranged in pairs but some species have 10 arms. Squids are fast! They can reach top speeds of 25 mph (as fast as some sharks), but only in short spurts. They can be found in all oceans from tropical to arctic waters. Squids live between 5-30 years, are solitary and found in abundance in our oceans. There are over 300 species of squid and all are predators. Small squid eat krill and plankton; larger squid hunt fish, the largest hunt whales. Like the octopods squid squirt ink to foil their predators. Squids are amazing in their range and diversity.

Grimpoteuthis

First off let me apologize, the blog seems to have some technical problems(this is affecting most earlier posts and may affect later also)

Grimpoteuthis is a genus of pelagic umbrella octopus that live in the deep sea. Also known as Dumbo octopuses. All spesies of Grimpoteuthis are bathyal creatures, living at extreme depths of 9,800-13,100ft with some living up to 23,000ft below sea level, which is the deepest of any known octopus.
They are some of the rarest Octopoda species. The largest Dumbo octopus ever recorded was 5.9ft in length and weighed 13lb.

An Octopuses Intelegence

Octopuses are highly intelligent, possibly more so than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists, but maze and problem solving experiments have shown evidence of a memory system that can store both short and long term memory. It is not known precisely what contribution learning makes to adult octopus behavior. Young octopuses learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom they have very little contact. In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning, although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds. Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them. Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.

Tool Use

The octopus has been shown to use tools. At least four specimens of the veined octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) have been witnessed retrieving discarded coconut shells, manipulating them, and then reassembling them to use as shelter. 

The Mimic Octopus

The mimic octopus is a species of octopus capable of impersonating other sea creatures. Octopuses can change color and texture because of pigment sacs known as chromatophores. The mimic octopus possesses chromatophores as well as the unique behavior of taking shape of various objects and animals. Many animals can imitate a different species to avoid or intimidate predators, but the mimic octopus is the only one who can imitate as diverse a range of forms in order to elude predators. Some of the more common animals the mimic octopus imitates are the following:

Lion fish – The lion fish is a poisonous fish with brown and white stripes, and spines that trail behind it on all sides. When the octopus changes its color and shapes its eight legs to look like spines, it is indeed conceivable that to the eyes of a potential predator, what might otherwise look like suitable prey, appears in fact as a highly venomous creature that should be avoided.

Sea snake – If under attack, a mimic octopus may hide completely in a hole except for two of its legs, which it sticks out in opposite directions. What remains in view is a long thin object with white and black bands running across the elongated body. Again the prospect of tangling with the highly venomous sea snake is something many predators would not attempt, and they therefore may swim away, leaving the octopus unharmed.

Flatfish – By pulling its arms together on one side, and flattening out his body while moving forward along the ocean floor, the mimic octopus imitates a flatfish.

Jellyfish – The Mimic Octopus will act as a Jellyfish sometimes to frighten and discourage certain predators. It does this by puffing up its head and siphon and letting its arms trail behind it. The octopus will then impersonate the motions of a jellyfish swimming by going to the surface and then slowly sinking with its arms spread evenly around its body.