#oegopsida

[snototter]

A robust clubhook squid (Onykia robusta) washed up at Dutch Harbour, Alaska, USA.

This approximately 10ft long specimen was photographed and then safely relocated back to the ocean, still alive.

by Andrew Bleiman

[herpsandbirds]

Japanese or Pacific Flying Squid (Todarodes pacificus), family Ommastrephidae, order Oegopsida, found in the North Pacific

This species can shoot out of the water and glide at distances of up to 30 m over the ocean's surface, using their fins and membranes between the arms and tentacles.

photos: Geoff Jones & Kouta Muramatsu, Hokkaido Univ.

[life-on-our-planet]

This is the first confirmed live observation of the colossal squid, Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, at depth in its natural habitat. Pilots filmed the young cephalopod at about 600m near the South Sandwich Islands as the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s remotely operated vehicle SuBastian descended through the water column on a dive aiming to discover new marine species, in partnership with Ocean Census during the #SouthSandwichIslands expedition. ©Schmidt Ocean Institute

[cephalopodidentifier]

Hey. So, the bush-club squid was recorded alive for possibly the first time. I WILL CRY.

These are very rarely reported squid, even less common than colossal squid. This individual is a little battered and is missing their namesake; that would be their wild tentacle clubs, which have about 500 suckers. However, their proportions are unmistakable - a tiny head, with a large siphon, a long mantle, and rounded fins with a long pointed tail at the end. The initial reaction to this squid was pure confusion. I floated an ID with some teuthologists and eventually we came to agreement that this is Batoteuthis! This sighting also marks a range extension, as this squid previously was considered to only have a sub-Antarctic distribution, but this was much further north, near Uruguay. It goes without saying that words cannot DESCRIBE how happy I am to see this squid!! They're not popular like the colossal squid but they matter to me, ok. They're colossal to me.

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Cephalopoda - Oegopsida

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Order: Oegopsida

Common Name: “Oegopsid Squids”

Families: 25 - Architeuthidae (“Giant Squid”), Neoteuthidae (“neosquids”), Cranchiidae (“glass squids”), Ommastrephidae (“shortfin squids”, “flying squids”, and kin), Thysanoteuthidae (“diamond squids”), Batoteuthidae (“Bush-club Squid”), Chiroteuthidae (“whip-lash squids”), Joubiniteuthidae (“Joubin's Squid”), Magnapinnidae (“bigfin squids”), Mastigoteuthidae (also known as “whip-lash squids”), Promachoteuthidae, Brachioteuthidae, Cycloteuthidae, Ancistrocheiridae (“Sharpear Enope Squid”), Enoploteuthidae (“enope squids”), Lampadioteuthidae (“Wonderful Firefly Squid”), Lycoteuthidae, Pyroteuthidae (“fire squids”), Pholidoteuthidae (“coffeebean scaled squids”), Lepidoteuthidae (“Grimaldi Scaled Squid”), Octopoteuthidae (“octopus squids”), Gonatidae (“armhook squids”), Histioteuthidae, Onychoteuthidae (“hooked squids”), and Psychroteuthidae (“Glacial Squid”)

Anatomy: internal shell; eight short arms and two longer, clubbed tentacles that may have hooks; head lacks tentacle pockets; eyes lack a corneal covering; many are bioluminescent

Diet: fish, crustaceans, other mollusks, copepods

Habitat/Range: oceans worldwide, usually pelagic

Evolved in: Late Cretaceous

Do you have a favorite in Oegopsida?

One or more of my favorite animals is in Oegopsida

I love at least one or more of these animals

I like at least one or more of these animals

I am neutral about all of these animals

I dislike all of these animals

Voting ended onJun 1, 2025

Propaganda under the cut:

The largest living cephalopod, and largest living invertebrate is the 700 kilogram (1,500 lb) Colossal Squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni).

The Firefly Squid (Watasenia scintillans) is one of the only cephalopods known to have color vision.

Some cephalopods are able to fly through the air for distances of up to 50 metres (160 ft)! They can achieve these ranges by jet-propulsion, squirting water from their funnel even while in the air. They then spread their fins and tentacles to form wings and actively control lift force with their body posture. The Japanese Flying Squid (Todarodes pacificus) has been observed spreading its tentacles in a flat fan shape and utilizing a mucus film between the individual tentacles.

Humboldt Squid (Dosidicus gigas) (image 4) are large, agile pack hunters, flashing red and white to communicate with each other and coordinate attacks on shoals of fish. They are particularly known for being aggressive towards humans, though this aggression may be well founded, as they are the most popular squids to be hunted for food, with around 10 million killed every year. In circumstances where these animals are not feeding or being hunted, they usually exhibit curious and intelligent behavior.

[have-you-seen-this-animal]

giant squid (architeuthis dux)?

It's difficult to find photos of these guys living and healthy, I found a few, certainly not the best quality, but of these animals in their natural habitat attacking light lures meant to imitate jellyfish, neither squid was harmed in the filming process.

Have you seen the giant squid (Architeuthis dux)?

I have now

Yes, in photos/videos

Yes, irl

I'm not sure

Voting ended onJun 3, 2025

The first photo is thanks to the Discovery Channel, the second is thanks to Edie Widder, Nathan Robinson, and NOAA.

[sharp-teuth]

a little giant squid doodle ive had for a while

decapodiformes are rlly hard to work with in squares. they were definitely made for the rectangle. nautiluses are for squares. octopuses can be whatever shape u want

[uncharismatic-fauna]

Uncharismatic Fact of the Day

Not all eyes are created equal-- in the case of the cock-eyed squid, they couldn't be more different! Members of the genus Histioteuthis are born with two eyes of the same size, but as they get older the left eye grows much faster than the right; by the time they're adults, the left eye can be twice as large as the right! The larger eye faces up towards the surface and detects prey swimming overhead, while the smaller eye can detect bioluminescence from below.

(Image: A cock-eyed squid (Histioteuthis heteropsis) by MBARI)