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Cephalopods, which include squids and octopuses, vary enormously in size. The smallest are only about 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long and weigh less than 1 gram (0.035 oz) at maturity, while the giant squid can exceed 10 metres (33 ft) in length and the colossal squid weighs close to half a tonne (1,100 lb), making them the largest living invertebrates. Living species range in mass more than three-billion-fold,[nb 1] or across nine orders of magnitude, from the lightest hatchlings to the heaviest adults.[4] Certain cephalopod species are also noted for having individual body parts of exceptional size.[5]
Cephalopods were at one time the largest of all organisms on Earth,[6] and numerous species of comparable size to the largest present day squids are known from the fossil record, including enormous examples of ammonoids, belemnoids, nautiloids, orthoceratoids, teuthids, and vampyromorphids. In terms of mass, the largest of all known cephalopods were likely the giant shelled ammonoids and endocerid nautiloids,[7] though perhaps still second to the largest living cephalopods when considering tissue mass alone.[8]
Cephalopods vastly larger than either giant or colossal squids have been postulated at various times. One of these was the St. Augustine Monster, a large carcass weighing several tonnes that washed ashore on the United States coast near St. Augustine, Florida, in 1896. Reanalyses in 1995 and 2004 of the original tissue samples—together with those of other similar carcasses—showed conclusively that they were all masses of the collagenous matrix of whale blubber.[9]
Giant cephalopods have fascinated humankind for ages. The earliest surviving records are perhaps those of Aristotle and Pliny the Elder, both of whom described squids of very large size.[10] Tales of giant squid have been common among mariners since ancient times, and may have inspired the monstrous kraken of Nordic legend, said to be as large as an island and capable of engulfing and sinking any ship.[11] Similar tentacled sea monsters are known from other parts of the globe, including the Akkorokamui of Japan and Te Wheke-a-Muturangi of New Zealand. The Lusca of the Caribbean and Scylla in Greek mythology may also derive from giant squid sightings,[12] as might eyewitness accounts of other sea monsters such as sea serpents.[13]
Cephalopods of enormous size have featured prominently in fiction.[14] Some of the best known examples include the giant squid from Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and its various film adaptations; the giant octopus from the 1955 monster movie It Came from Beneath the Sea; and the giant squid from Peter Benchley's 1991 novel Beast and the TV film adaptation of the same name.
Due to its status as a charismatic megafaunal species, the giant squid has been proposed as an emblematic animal for marine invertebrate conservation.[15] Life-sized models of the giant squid are a common sight in natural history museums around the world,[16] and preserved specimens are much sought after for display.[17]
^Rosa et al., 2017:1871
^Wood & O'Dor, 2000:93
^Nabhitabhata, 1998:28
^O'Dor & Hoar, 2000:8
^Nilsson et al., 2012:683
^Smith et al., 2016
^Teichert & Kummel, 1960:6
^Vermeij, 2016
^Pierce et al., 1995; 2004
^Gerhardt, 1966:171; Muntz, 1995; Ellis, 1998a:11
^Salvador & Tomotani, 2014
^Ley, 1941
^Lee, 1883; Ellis, 1994b
^see Garcin & Raynal, 2011; Barrère, 2017
^Guerra et al., 2011
^Tratz, 1973; Ellis, 1997a, b
^Landman & Ellis, 1998; Ablett, 2012
Cite error: There are <ref group=nb> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=nb}} template (see the help page).
Cephalopods, which include squids and octopuses, vary enormously in size. The smallest are only about 1 centimetre (0.39 in) long and weigh less than 1...
A cephalopod /ˈsɛfələpɒd/ is any member of the molluscan class Cephalopoda /sɛfəˈlɒpədə/ (Greek plural κεφαλόποδες, kephalópodes; "head-feet") such as...
All extant cephalopods have a two-part beak, or rostrum, situated in the buccal mass and surrounded by the muscular head appendages. The dorsal (upper)...
ναυτίλος nautílos 'sailor') is an ancient pelagic marine mollusc of the cephalopod family Nautilidae. The nautilus is the sole extant family of the superfamily...
Cephalopod ink is a dark-coloured or luminous ink released into water by most species of cephalopod, usually as an escape mechanism. All cephalopods, with...
achatina) at up to 1 kg (2.2 lb) and 35 cm (14 in) long. Cephalopods (Cephalopoda) (See Cephalopodsize.) While generally much smaller than the giant Architeuthis...
impair normal embryonic development, survival rates or body size. Unlike other cephalopods, cuttlefish possess a unique internal structure called the cuttlebone...
The cephalopods have a long geological history, with the first nautiloids found in late Cambrian strata, and purported stem-group representatives present...
abyssicola, in which case M. fisheri would become a junior synonym. Cephalopodsize Allcock, L.; Barratt, I. (2014). "Megalocranchia fisheri". IUCN Red...
dofleini), also known as the North Pacific giant octopus, is a large marine cephalopod belonging to the genus Enteroctopus and Enteroctopodidae family. Its spatial...
Bigfin squids are a group of rarely seen cephalopods with a distinctive morphology. They are placed in the genus Magnapinna and family Magnapinnidae....
Cephalopod intelligence is a measure of the cognitive ability of the cephalopod class of molluscs. Intelligence is generally defined as the process of...
Asia). Cameroceras exhibited a broad range of sizes, and some species were fairly large by extinct cephalopod standards. One species, C. turrisoides from...
cannibalistic pack hunting was captured on film for the first time. Cephalopodsize Colossal squid Giant squid Thysanoteuthis rhombus Squid as food William...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Parapuzosia seppenradensis fossils. Cephalopodsize Payne, J.L., A.G. Boyer, J.H. Brown, S. Finnegan, M. Kowalewski, R...
reach large sizes, with a diameter of about 1.37 m for Titanites occidentalis. They were fast-moving nektonic carnivores. Cephalopodsize Universal Biological...
west Pacific. Syntype (86 cm ML) Closeup of the mantle scales Gladius Cephalopodsize Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Lepidoteuthis grimaldii". IUCN Red...
cuttlebones for calcium and enrichment.[citation needed] Cuttlebone Cephalopodsize European squid Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2012). "Sepia officinalis"...
media related to Enteroctopus. Giant squid Colossal squid Cephalopodsize Kraken Lusca The size record is held by an E. dofleini specimen that was 9 meters...
Tusoteuthis is an extinct genus of large enchoteuthine cephalopod that lived during the Cretaceous. Although often called a squid, it is now thought to...
tentacle hooks; these hooks have been compared in size to the claws of a tiger.[citation needed] The cephalopod beak resembles that of a parrot. It is a tough...
leaf structure with a stem, ribs and a scattering of black spots. Cephalopodsize Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2012). "Sepia latimanus". IUCN Red List of...
true live giant squid in the wild were taken, on September 30, 2004. Cephalopodsize Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2014). "Onykia robusta". IUCN Red List of...
a group of cephalopods from the Lower Paleozoic with cone-like deposits in their siphuncle. Endocerida was a diverse group of cephalopods that lived from...
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inspired the development of a retro computer game called Cuttle Scuttle. Cephalopodsize Barratt, I.; Allcock, L. (2012). "Sepia apama". IUCN Red List of Threatened...
Ammonoids are extinct spiral shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living coleoids (i.e., octopuses...
in other cephalopods.[citation needed] Giant squid have small fins at the rear of their mantles used for locomotion. Like other cephalopods, they are...