Are squid and octopus friends?

Squid and octopus are often mistaken for each other because they are quite similar.

There is no mistake that they are close species, but they are not sister groups (the most closely related clades in a phylogenetic tree).

What do squid eat?

Squid prefer to eat small fish and crustaceans (such as shrimp and crabs).

And squid sometimes attack and eat prey larger than their own body. Japanese flying squid, which often appears on the dining table, eats whole sardines when hunting, but when eating Brown hakeling, it seems that they sometimes only eat the body with their long arms without eating the head.

Why do squids vomit ink?

The reason why squid spits ink is to blind their enemies and escape.

Blinding is the purpose of spitting ink to take away the enemy’s sight, and the high viscosity of squid ink remains spindle-shaped without spreading immediately into the sea, so they can escape while the enemy’s attention is focused there.

Octopuses also spit ink, but their ink is less fatty and smoother than squid ink. Squid ink is more flavorful because it has more fat, so it is often used in cooking more than octopus ink.

Can I keep a squid as a pet?

When keeping rare animals, it is necessary to follow the laws established by each country. This time, we will introduce whether it is possible to keep squid at home in Japan. It is possible to keep squid as a pet.

However, it is not recommended because it is difficult to obtain healthy living squid in the first place, and it requires a large water tank, a powerful filtration system, and live bait. It is quite difficult in terms of facilities.

Giant squid vs sperm whale?

No one has actually seen the scene of a giant squid vs. a sperm whale.

However, individuals with suction cup marks that are thought to have been attached by giant squid have been found on whale bodies, and pictures have been taken of sperm whales swimming with dead giant squid in their mouths.

In addition, during the time when whaling was active, giant squid were often captured together with whales.

I hope someday we can see a giant squid vs. sperm whale.

Can you eat giant squid?

It is said that the giant squid that appears on the beach or is usually supposed to live in the deep sea and shows up is a giant squid that is said to be a precursor to a major earthquake, but can it be eaten? Is it delicious?

Everyone has probably thought about it at least once.

Giant squid can be eaten because it is not poisonous. However, it is said to be very salty and smelly.

Giant squid have ammonia-containing cells in their muscles to keep their large bodies afloat in the water. Ammonia is found in pee, and no one likes the smell of pee. The smell of ammonia is said to be reduced by eating it as surume, but this only reduces the smell, not eliminates it.

It probably won’t be sold as food in the future.

Is it true that the squid has more than one heart?

Basic living things like humans have one heart per body.

However, squid actually have three hearts in one body, each with a different role. There are three hearts in total: one for sending blood throughout the body and two auxiliary hearts called gill hearts.

The reason why squid has three hearts is that they move a lot and need three hearts to supply oxygen because one heart is not enough.

If the main heart stops functioning, it will die immediately, but if it loses the gill heart, it will not die immediately but will become weak due to lack of oxygen and die.

Do you know the correct orientation of the squid?

Squid in books and other materials are often depicted with the triangular fin on top and 10 tentacles below, but this is not the correct orientation.

The correct orientation for squid is with the triangular fin on the bottom and 10 tentacles on top.

The 10 tentacles that are often called legs are actually arms.