The Back Alley Archives

Okay, so now you’re aware of ICAD, and you’re thinking hey, I like cephalopods, how do I celebrate? Are there guidelines? Why October 8[SUP]th[/SUP]-12[SUP]th[/SUP]? October 8th was chosen for appreciating those intelligent invertebrates with a combination of 8 or 10 appendages. Octopuses have eight arms while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. So the powers that be chose the eighth day of the tenth month. Because cephalopods are so blasted interesting, four more days were added to the celebration.

Though one should always take time to be aware of all cephalopods, here are some very loose guidelines as to which cephalopod you should be aware of on which day:

• October 8 – Octopus Day, for all the eight-armed species
• October 9 – Nautilus Night, a time for all the lesser-known extant cephalopods
• October 10 – Squid Day/Cuttlefish Day covering the tentacular species
• October 11 – Myths and Legends Day, for all the fantastical cephalopods of movies, literature and legend. Release the Kraken!
• October 12 – Fossil Day for all the incredible suckers that have gone extinct

• An adult Octopus can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime.
• An octopus' blood is blue.
• Numerous myths and legends surround the octopus and most of them are false. Octopuses are not aggressive, man-eating or large enough to crush a boat. The largest octopus ever found was 300 lbs with an arm span of 33 feet.
• Octopuses have wonderful eyesight and a complex sense of touch and taste. They are, however, deaf.
• The correct plural of Octopus is "octopuses". "Octopods" is a more scientific term. "Octopi" is frowned upon. :02:

• The eye of the nautilus is somewhat of an anomaly compared to other cephalopods. Squid and octopi have optical lenses and precise eyesight, while the nautilus has an eye comparable to a pin-hole camera, resulting in simple and imprecise eyesight. Cephalopods do not have corneas, but some squid have the capability of color vision.
  
  The shape of the nautilus shell can be described by a logarithmic spiral, a mathematical curve studied extensively by Jacob Bernoulli. This same spiral can be used to describe the shape of hurricanes and certain galaxies.
  
  The nautilus does not expend much energy with normal bodily functions. Because of this, the nautilus only needs to feed once per month.
  
  Not only does the nautilus have dozens (up to 90!) of tentacles more than the squid and the octopus, but its tentacles also differ in structure. Octopi and squid have sucker-pads on their tentacles to grip objects, while nautili do not. Instead, nautili have tentacles with textured ridges, allowing them to grip objects, such as prey.

DocZaius wrote: Octopi and squid have sucker-pads on their tentacles to grip objects, while nautili do not. Instead, nautili have tentacles with textured ridges, allowing them to grip objects, such as prey.

The correct plural of Octopus is "octopuses". "Octopods" is a more scientific term. "Octopi" is frowned upon.

• Both squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles
• Both squid and cuttlefish have internal shells. Squid have a gladius, or pen, which in extant squid is made of chitin. Cuttlefish have a cuttlebone, made of the mineral aragonite and chitin.
• Squid can and do inhabit very deep water. Because of their mineralized cuttlebones and other factors cuttlefish generally live in shallower waters. If they were to dive too deep too rapidly their cuttlebones would break under the pressure.
• Cuttlebones are given to pet birds as a source of calcium.
• Both squid and cuttlefish can move using jet propulsion. Some species of squid are even known to fly for short distances.
• Both squid and cuttlefish have chromatophores in their skin that allow them to rapidly change color.
• Artists once used cuttlefish ink as sepia.
• Most squid are no more than 6 meters long, however the giant squid (Architeuthis dux) and the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) are much longer, up to ~14 meters.
• The largest colossal squid ever documented weighed in at 495 kilograms which is over 1000 lbs.
• Cuttlefish range in size from 15 cm to 25 cm. The largest species, can be up to 50 cm in mantle length and over 10.5 kg in weight.
• Cuttlefish are not found of the coast of the Americas today, but we do find fossil “cuttlebones” of extinct cuttlefish-like critters in Eocene sediments of North Carolina.

• Cuttlefish have a cuttlebone. Yeah they do.
• If they were to dive too deep too rapidly their cuttlebones would break under the pressure. It's not all about depth and speed, width and stamina count too.
• Cuttlebones are given to pet birds as a source of calcium. I'd be interested to see a cuttlefish give the bird a bone. Also, you sure on your fact? Calcium and not protien?