The Dana Octopus Squid is a species of squid in the family Octopoteuthidae. It is one of the largest known squid octopus species, with a mantle length of 1.7 m and total length of 2.3 m. Scientists have found the largest known specimen, a mature female, weighed 61.4 kilograms. The octopus squid is known for emitting blinding flashes of light from photo pores on its arms as it attacks its prey. Amazingly it is believed that this highly maneuverable squid uses the bright flashes to disorientate potential prey. These flashes serve to illuminate the prey to make for easier capture as well as a courtship and territorial display.
There are around 200 species of octopuses. Mouth of octopus is in the center of its tentacles. Octopus can inject the prey with toxic substance and also some octopus shoot ink and change colors. Octopuses and squids movement are like jet propulsion, sucking water into a muscular sac in the mantle cavity surrounding their bodies and quickly expelling it out by a narrow siphon. Both octopuses and squids are species of snails and other mollusks. Octopuses no longer have any character of a shell though squids do possess a stiff structure known as a pen, that acts as a flexible backbone. Both squids and octopuses have blue blood because they use an oxygen-carrying molecule in their blood that contains copper.
Octopuses and squids have hard, parrot-like beaks which serve excellently for killing, and tearing pieces of flesh from their prey. Octopuses live in dens on the sea floor while squids live in the open oceans. Octopuses have eight sucker-lined arms to capture their prey and move on the ocean floor while squids have eight arms lined with suckers and two specialized tentacles that they use to reach out and capture prey. Mainly the octopuses eat bottom-dwelling crustaceans and squids eat fishes and shrimps even. Octopuses hunt their prey by piercing the shells of their prey, injecting poison that causes paralysis they then release the salivary enzymes, loosening the meat from the inner shell. Squids have two specialized tentacles to quickly reach out and capture fishes then tear off bits of flesh and scrape the meat into their mouths with their beaks.
