Know Your Cephalopods

KNOW YOUR CEPHALOPODS

It’s Cephalopod Week here at Camp E&E and all over! We’ll be learning more about our mollusk friends, don’t worry we’ll get back to our Echinoderm friends soon.

CEPHALOPOD FUN FACTS:  

• Cephalopods are marine mollusks. This means they are related snails and nudibranchs (distantly).
• Cephalopods include octopus, cuttlefish, nautilus and squid.
• All cephalopods have a head with eyes, a mantle that holds their organs and beak like mouth. Cephalopods are invertebrates- meaning they have no bones.
• Cephalopod limbs are attached to their heads.
• Octopus have 8 arms – yep they are called arms. Their arms are covered in suckers.
• Cuttlefish and squid have 8 arms and 2 tentacles.
• Nautilus have many tentacles and have no suckers. They unlike other cephalopods, have an outer shell.
• Cephalopods only live a year or two, except nautilus who live around 15 years.
• Cephalopods can change the color and texture of their skin to camouflage with their environment.
• Cephalopods have been around for about 500 million years.