Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises
around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head,
bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms
arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles. Squid are strong swimmers
and certain species can "fly" for short distances out of the water.
Squid have differentiated from their ancestral molluscs such
that the body plan has been condensed antero-posteriorly and extended dorso-ventrally.
What before may have been the foot of the ancestor is modified into a complex
set of tentacles and highly developed sense organs, including advanced eyes
similar to those of vertebrates? The ancestral shell has been lost, with only
an internal gladius, or pen, remaining. The pen is a feather-shaped internal
structure that supports the squid's mantle and serves as a site for muscle
attachment. It is made of a chitin-like material.
