With stories told over time of giant squid attacking ships, the squid can range from 1 foot to about 49 feet in length. The heaviest ever found was estimated to be about 990 pounds. Even at this enormous size, I doubt that the squid could sink an entire ship. These stories seem to make the giant squid seem almost invincible, but the smaller squid have multiple predators and are eaten by whales, seals, sharks, bony fishes and even me! The squid is not really a picky eater, and will eat things such as fish, shellfish, plankton and even other squid. The squid will attack his prey with sudden bursts of speed, and holds onto the prey with its tentacles. The squid then cuts the food into bite size chunks with the beak. Once inside the mouth, the radula moves the food into the digestive system.

Of all the kinds of squid, two are known more commercially, the longfin and the veined squid. The longfin squid generally inhabits the western Atlantic Ocean from Newfoundland to Venezuela. The veined squid lives mostly in the eastern Atlantic waters and the Mediterranean Sea.

The squid’s movement is similar to that of an octopus. The squid fills its mantle with water, and then forces the water out of the mantle, pushing the squid forward. When the squid is confronted by one of its predators, the animal may spurt out an inky black fluid, acting as a smokescreen. This may confuse the predator, allowing the squid to jet away to safety.

The squid is in no known way harmful to humans, but humans eat squid all over the world. In some places, such as the Mediterranean region, squid is an extremely popular food, as it also is in the coastal countries of Asia, such as Korea, Japan and China. All in all, I think that the squid is one of the most interesting and wonderful tasting creations ever!