What's the difference among calamari, squid, cuttlefish and octopus?

Question

Thanks.

Answer 1

Calamari may refer to

In English, culinary name for squid as a food, frequently served as fried calamari.
The Greek, Italian, or Spanish words for squid, from which the English term is derived.



Squid are a large, diverse group of marine cephalopods. Like all cephalopods, squid are distinguished by having a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs.

[edit] Modification from ancestral forms
Squid have differentiated from their ancestral molluscs in such a way that the body plan has been condensed antero-posteriorly and extended dorso-ventrally. What before may have been the foot of the ancestor is now modified into a complex set of tentacles and highly developed sense organs, including advanced eyes similar to those of vertebrates.

The shell of the ancestor has been lost, with only an internal gladius, or pen, remaining.


[edit] Anatomy

European Squid (Loligo vulgaris)The main body mass of the squid is enclosed in the mantle, which has two swimming fins along each side. It should be noted that these fins, unlike in other marine organisms, are not the main source of ambulation. The skin of the squid is covered in chromatophores, which enable the squid to change color to suit its surroundings. The underside of the squid is also found to be lighter than the topside, in order to provide camouflage from both prey and predator.

Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gills (ctenidia) and openings to the excretory and reproductive systems. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion via precise jet propulsion. This is done by sucking water into the mantle cavity and quickly expelling it out of the siphon in a fast, strong jet. The direction of the siphon can be changed in order to suit the direction of travel.

Inside the mantle cavity, beyond the siphon, lies the visceral mass of the squid, which is covered in a thin, membranous epidermis. Under this are all the major internal organs of the squid.


[edit] Reproductive system

Ventral view of the viscera of Chtenopteryx sicula.In female squid, the ink sac is hidden from view by a pair of white nidamental glands, which lie anterior to the gills. There are also red-spotted accessory nidamental glands. Both of these organs are associated with manufacture of food supplies and shells for the eggs. Females also have a large translucent ovary, situated towards the posterior of the visceral mass.

Male squid do not possess these organs, but instead have a large testis in place of the ovary, and a spermatophoric gland and sac. In mature males, this sac may contain spermatophores, which are placed inside the mantle of the female during mating.


[edit] Digestive system
Squid, like all cephalopods, have a complex digestive system. Food is transported into a muscular stomach, found roughly midpoint in the visceral mass. The bolus is then transported into the caecum for digestion. The caecum, a long, white organ, is found next to ovary or testis. In mature squid, more priority is given to reproduction and so the stomach and caecum often shrivel up towards the later stages of life. Finally, food goes to the liver (or digestive gland), found at the siphon end of the squid, for absorption. Solid waste is passed out of the rectum. Beside the rectum is the ink sac, which allows a squid to discharge a black ink into the mantle cavity at short notice.


[edit] Cardiovascular system
Squid have three hearts. Two branchial hearts, feeding the gills, each surrounding the larger systemic heart that pumps blood around the body. The hearts have a faint greenish appearance and are surrounded by the renal sacs - the main excretory system of the squid. The kidneys are faint and difficult to identify and stretch from the hearts (located at the posterior side of the ink sac) to the liver. The systemic heart is made of three chambers, a lower ventricle and two upper auricles.


[edit] Head
The head end of the squid bears 8 arms and two tentacles, each a form of muscular hydrostat containing many suckers along the edge. These tentacles do not grow back if severed. In mature male squid, one basal half of the left ventral tentacle is hectocotylised - it ends in a copulatory pad rather than suckers. This is used for intercourse between mature males and females.

The mouth of the squid is equipped with a sharp horny beak mainly made of chitin [1] and cross-linked proteins, and is used to kill and tear prey into manageable pieces. In contrast to the teeth and jaws of many other organisms, including from marine species, the beak does not contain any minerals. Yet it is a very robust structure. [2] Captured whales often have squid beaks in their stomachs, the beak being the only indigestible part of the squid. The mouth contains the radula (the rough tongue common to all molluscs except bivalvia and aplacophora).

The eyes of the squid, found on either side of the head, contains a hard lens, which is used much like the lens of a camera or telescope for focusing; rather than changing shape, like a human eye, it moves mechanically.


Giant squid in Melbourne Aquarium
[edit] Size
See also: Giant squid, Colossal Squid, and Cephalopod size
The majority of squid are no more than 60 cm long, although the giant squid may reach 13 m in length. In 2003 a large specimen of an abundant but poorly understood species, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni (the Colossal Squid) was discovered. This species may grow to 14 m in length, making it the largest invertebrate. It also possesses the largest eyes in the animal kingdom. Giant squids are featured in literature and folklore, with a frightening connotation. The Kraken is a legendary tentacled monster possibly based on sightings of real giant squids.

A Colossal Squid, weighing 495 kg and about 10 meters long, was caught by a New Zealand fishing vessel off the coast of Antarctica in February 2007.[1] The specimen is currently frozen while scientists plan how best to examine it.

Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes squid, octopuses, and nautiluses). Despite their common name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs. Recent studies indicate that cuttlefish may be the most intelligent invertebrate species. [1]

Cuttlefish have an internal shell (cuttlebone), large W shaped eyes, and eight arms and two tentacles furnished with denticulated suckers, with which they secure their prey.

Cuttlefish eat small molluscs, crabs, shrimp, fish and other cuttlefish. Their predators include dolphins, sharks, fish, seals and other cuttlefish. They live about 1 to 2 years.

Anatomy

[edit] Cuttlebone
Main article: Cuttlebone
Cuttlefish possess an internal structure called the cuttlebone, which is composed of calcium carbonate and is porous, to provide the cuttlefish with buoyancy. Buoyancy can be regulated by changing the gas-to-liquid ratio in the chambered cuttlebone. Each species has a distinct shape, size, and pattern of ridges or texture on the "bone". Cuttlebones are traditionally used by jewellers and silversmiths as moulds for casting small objects. They are probably better known today as the tough material given to parakeets and other cage birds as a source of dietary calcium. The cuttlebone is unique to cuttlefish, one of the features contrasting them with their squid relatives.


[edit] Changing color

An infant cuttlefish protects itself with camouflageCuttlefish are sometimes called the chameleon of the sea because of their remarkable ability to rapidly alter their skin colour at will. Their skin flashes a fast-changing pattern as communication to other cuttlefish and to camouflage them from predators. This color-changing function is produced by groups of red, yellow, brown, and black pigmented chromatophores above a layer of reflective iridophores and leucophores, with up to 200 of these specialized pigment cells per square millimeter. The pigmented chromatophores have a sac of pigment and a large membrane that is folded when retracted. There are 6-20 small muscle cells on the sides which can contract to squash the elastic sac into a disc against the skin. Yellow chromatophores (xanthophores) are closest to the surface of the skin, red and orange are below (erythrophores), and brown or black are just above the iridophore layer (melanophores). The iridophores reflect blue and green light. Iridophores are plates of chitin or protein, which can reflect the environment around a cuttlefish. They are responsible for the metallic blues, greens, golds, and silvers often seen on cuttlefish. All of these cells can be used in combinations. For example, orange is produced by red and yellow chromatophores, while purple can be created by a red chromatophore and an iridophore. The cuttlefish can also use an iridophore and a yellow chromatophore to produce a brighter green. As well as being able to influence the color of the light that reflects off their skin, cuttlefish can also affect the light's polarization, which can be used to signal to other marine animals, many of which can also sense polarization.


[edit] Eyes
Cuttlefish eyes are among the most developed in the animal kingdom. The organogenesis of cephalopod eyes differs fundamentally from that of vertebrates like humans.[2] Superficial similarities between cephalopod and vertebrate eyes are examples of convergent evolution. The cuttlefish pupil is a smoothly-curving W shape. Although they cannot see color, they can perceive the polarization of light, which enhances their perception of contrast. They have two spots of concentrated sensor cells on their retina (known as fovea), one to look more forward, and one to look more backwards. The lenses, instead of being reshaped as they are in humans, are instead pulled around by reshaping the entire eye in order to change focus.


Pfeffer's Flamboyant Cuttlefish, from Sipadan, Malaysia
[edit] Blood
The blood of a cuttlefish is an unusual shade of green-blue because it uses the copper-containing protein hemocyanin to carry oxygen instead of the red iron-containing protein hemoglobin that is found in mammals. The blood is pumped by three separate hearts, two of which are used for pumping blood to the cuttlefish's pair of gills (one heart for each gill), and the third for pumping blood around the rest of the body. A cuttlefish's heart must pump a higher blood flow than most other animals because hemocyanin is substantially less capable of carrying oxygen than hemoglobin.


[edit] Toxicity
Recently it has been discovered that the Pfeffer's Flamboyant Cuttlefish's muscles contain a highly toxic compound that is yet to be identified. [1] Research by Mark Norman with the Museum Victoria in Queensland, Australia has shown the toxin to be as lethal as that of a fellow cephalopod, the Blue-ringed octopus.[3]


[edit] Ink
Cuttlefish have ink, like squid and octopuses. This ink was formerly an important dye, called sepia. Today artificial dyes have replaced natural sepia. However, there is a modern resurgence of Jewish people using the ink for the techelet dye on their Tallit strings.


[edit] Cuttlefish as food
Cuttlefish are caught for food in the Mediterranean and East Asia. Although squid is more popular as a restaurant dish all over the world, in East Asia dried cuttlefish is a highly popular snack food.

Cuttlefish is especially popular in Italy, where it is used in Risotto Nero. The Croatian Crni Rižot is virtually the same recipe, which probably originated in Venice and then spread across both coasts of the Adriatic. "Nero" and "Crni" mean black, the color the rice turns because of the cuttlefish ink. Spanish cuisine, especially that of the coastal regions, uses cuttlefish and squid ink for the marine flavor and smoothness it provides; it is included in dishes such as rice, pasta and fish stews.


[edit] Cuttlefish in literature
Cuttlefish made their most important literary appearance in the title of Eugenio Montale's ground-breaking debut collection of poetry entitled Cuttlefish Bones (Ossi di seppia), published in Turin in 1925. Montale, who grew up in Liguria along the Mediterranean Sea, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1975, for his long and prolific career. Cuttlefish Bones remains one of the best-known and influential collections of 20th-century poetry.

In the popular novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Captain Nemo and his companions engage in a fierce battle with a group of giant cuttlefish. Although the creatures are defeated, one of the crew members is killed during the fight. Although Jules Verne accurately describes the cuttlefish's three hearts, he describes their blood as being red, instead of its actual greenish tint.

In the science-fiction novel Frek and the Elixir, by Rudy Rucker, an alien named Professor Bumby presents himself to protagonist Frek in the form of a cuttlefish.

In Monty Python's Parrot Sketch, the owner of the parrot shouts into the bird cage that "has a nice cuttlefish" for it to eat.

The octopus (Greek Ὀκτάπους, 'eight-legs') is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus. In the larger sense, there are 289 different octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species.

Physiology
Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (not tentacles), usually bearing suction cups. These arms are a type of muscular hydrostat. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses — those in the suborder most commonly known, Incirrina — have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. They have neither a protective outer shell like the nautilus, nor any vestige of an internal shell or bones, like cuttlefish or squids. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is the only hard part of their body. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish. The octopuses in the less familiar Cirrina suborder have two fins and an internal shell, generally lessening their ability to squeeze into small spaces.

Octopuses have a relatively short life span, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch, for they neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs.

Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Less efficient than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, the hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being bound in red blood cells and gives the blood a blue color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.


[edit] Intelligence
Main article: cephalopod intelligence

A Big Blue Octopus (Octopus cyanea) observing its surroundingsOctopuses are highly intelligent, probably more intelligent than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists,[1][2][3] but maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short- and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based, although this remains largely unproven. They learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom young octopuses have very little contact.

An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the Mimic Octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning,[4] although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds.[1][2] Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them.[5] Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.[3]

In some countries octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia. In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and other cruelty to animals legislation, extending to them protections not normally afforded to invertebrates.[6]

A common belief is that when stressed, an octopus may begin to eat its own arms. However, limited research conducted in this area has revealed that the cause of this abnormal behavior, called autophagy, may be a virus that attacks the octopus's nervous system. Thus this behavior may be more correctly labeled as a neurological disorder.[citation needed]


[edit] Defense

An ocellated octopus nestled in a clamshell
Greater Blue-ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)Three defensive mechanisms are typical of octopuses: ink sacs, camouflage, and autotomising limbs.

Most octopuses can eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main colouring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin colour. This ink cloud dulls smell, which is particularly useful for evading predators that are dependent on smell for hunting, such as sharks.

An octopus's camouflage is aided by certain specialized skin cells which can change the apparent color, opacity, and reflectiveness of the epidermis. Chromatophores contain yellow, orange, red, brown, or black pigments; most species have three of these colors, while some have two or four. Other color-changing cells are reflective iridophores, and leucophores (white).[7] This color-changing ability can also be used to communicate with or warn other octopuses. The very venomous blue-ringed octopus becomes bright yellow with blue rings when it is provoked.

When under attack, some octopuses can detach their own limbs, in a similar manner to the way skinks and other lizards detach their tails. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators; this ability is also used in mating.

A few species, such as the Mimic Octopus, have a fourth defense mechanism. They can combine their highly flexible bodies with their color changing ability to accurately mimic other, more dangerous animals such as lionfish, sea snakes and eels. They have also been observed changing the texture of their mantle in order to achieve a greater camouflage. The mantle can take on the spiky appearance of seaweed, or the scraggly, bumpy texture of a rock, among other disguises.


[edit] Reproduction
When octopuses reproduce, males use a specialized arm called a hectocotylus to insert spermatophores (packets of sperm) into the female's mantle cavity. The hectocotylus, usually the third right arm, detaches from the male during copulation. Males die within a few months after mating. In some species, the female octopus can keep the sperm alive inside her for weeks until her eggs are mature. After they have been fertilized, the female lays about 200,000 eggs (this figure dramatically varies between families, genera, species and also individuals). The female hangs these eggs in strings from the ceiling of her lair, or individually attaches them to the substratum depending on the species. The female cares for the eggs, guarding them against predators, and gently blowing currents of water over them so that they get enough oxygen. The female does not eat during the roughly one-month period spent taking care of the unhatched eggs. At around the time the eggs hatch, the mother dies and the young larval octopuses spend a period of time drifting in clouds of plankton, where they feed on copepods, larval crabs and larval starfish until they are ready to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, where the cycle repeats itself. In some deeper dwelling species, the young do not go through this period. This is a dangerous time for the larval octopuses; as they become part of the plankton cloud they are vulnerable to many plankton eaters.


[edit] Sensation

Eye of Octopus vulgarisOctopuses have keen eyesight. Although their slit-shaped pupils might be expected to afflict them with astigmatism, it appears that this is not a problem in the light levels in which an octopus typically hunts. Surprisingly, they do not appear to have color vision, although they can distinguish the polarization of light. Attached to the brain are two special organs, called statocysts, that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body relative to horizontal. An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so that the pupil slit is always horizontal.

Octopuses also have an excellent sense of touch. An octopus's suction cups are equipped with chemoreceptors so that the octopus can taste what it is touching. The arms contain tension sensors so that the octopus knows whether its arms are stretched out. However, the octopus has a very poor proprioceptive sense. The tension receptors are not sufficient for the octopus brain to determine the position of the octopus's body or arms. (It is not clear that the octopus brain would be capable of processing the large amount of information that this would require; the flexibility of an octopus's arms is much greater than that of the limbs of vertebrates, which devote large areas of cerebral cortex to the processing of proprioceptive inputs.) As a result, the octopus does not possess stereognosis; that is, it does not form a mental image of the overall shape of the object it is handling. It can detect local texture variations, but cannot integrate the information into a larger picture.

The neurological autonomy of the arms means that the octopus has great difficulty learning about the detailed effects of its motions. The brain may issue a high-level command to the arms, but the nerve cords in the arms execute the details. There is no neurological path for the brain to receive feedback about just how its command was executed by the arms; the only way it knows just what motions were made is by observing the arms visually.


[edit] Locomotion

Octopuses swim headfirst, with arms trailing behindOctopuses move about by crawling or swimming. Their main means of slow travel is crawling, with some swimming. Their only means of fast travel is called jet propulsion.

They crawl by walking on their arms, usually on many at once, on solid surfaces, while supported in water. In 2005 it was reported that some octopuses can walk on two arms on a solid surface, while at the same time imitating a coconut or a clump of seaweed.[8]

They swim by expelling a jet of water from a contractile mantle, and aiming it via a muscular siphon.


[edit] Terminology
According to various sources, there are up to three forms of the plural of octopus: octopuses, octopi and (rare) octopodes. Octopuses is the most common form, but Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries accept octopi as an alternative form. The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi, and octopodes in order of descending frequency of use. The term octopod (either plural octopods and octopodes can be found) is taken from the taxonomic order octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.

Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses", and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic. Octopi derives from the mistaken notion that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Greek, from oktṓpous (ὀκτώπους), gender masculine, whose plural is oktṓpődes (ὀκτώποδες). If the word were native to Latin, it would be octōpēs ('eight-foot') and the plural octōpedes, analogous to centipedes and mīllipedes, as the plural form of pēs ('foot') is pedes. In modern, informal Greek, it is called chtapódi (χταπόδι), gender neuter, with plural form chtapódia (χταπόδια).


[edit] Relationship to humans
Humans usually capture octopuses as food. However, some are kept in captivity at public aquariums and in private establishments as pets.


[edit] As food
Wikibooks Cookbook has more about this subject:
Octopus
Octopuses at Tsukiji fish marketMany species of octopus are eaten as food by human cultures around the world. The arms and sometimes other parts of the body are prepared in various ways, often depending on the species being eaten.

Octopus is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, including sushi, takoyaki, and Akashiyaki. Some small species are sometimes eaten alive as a novelty and health food (mostly in South Korea). Octopus is also a common food in Mediterranean cuisine. According to the USDA Nutrient Database (2007), cooked octopus contains approximately 139 calories per three ounce portion, and is a useful source of vitamin B3, B12, potassium, phosphorus, and selenium.[9]


[edit] As pets

An octopus escaping an aquarium through a thin crack.Though octopuses can be difficult to keep in captivity, some people keep them as pets. Octopuses often escape even from supposedly secure tanks, due to their intelligence, problem solving skills, mobility and lack of rigid structure. The variation in size and life span among octopus species makes it difficult to know how long a new specimen can naturally be expected to live. That is, a small octopus may be just born or may be an adult, depending on the species. By selecting a well-known species, such as the California Two-spot Octopus, one can choose a small octopus (around the size of a tennis ball) and be confident that it is young with a full life ahead of it.

Octopuses are also quite strong for their size. Octopuses kept as pets have been known to open the covers of their aquariums and survive for a time in the air in order to get to a nearby feeder tank and gorge themselves on the fish there. They have also been known to catch and kill some species of sharks.[10]

Answer 2

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Squid and calamari are the same thing, essentially. That's like asking the difference between a cow and steak. Calamari is cooked squid "tentacles"--normally fried, and very good. Octopus is a different animal, but it's in the same family: mollusk. The difference between a squid and an octopus is the difference between a donkey and a horse. They can look similar, but they are fundamentally different, and one is bigger. A cuttlefish is also in the same family as a squid, but it's a lot like a snail. Hope that helps!

Answer 3

Octopus Squid Difference

Answer 4

Calamari is just the Italian word for squid. Cuttlefish look similar to squid, in a superficial sort of way. Both are free swimming mulluscs. Octopus are also mulluscs, but are not as free swimming, as such, they are bottom dwellers. living among rocks etc. Look them up on Wikipedia for more info. All belong to the class Cephalopoda, Phylum Mollusca.

Answer 5

Calamari is squid. It is usually fried here in the deep south! Octopus is larger than a squid.

Answer 6

Calamari is what you eat.
And that's all the other three.