Thursday, November 08, 2007

Christopher's Report on Cephalopods (If You Don't Know What They Are - You'd Better Read it!)

What Makes Cephalopods Unique?
By: Christopher Amick

Octupi, squids, cuttlefish, and nautiluses... these are the creatures who make up the species known as cephalopods. Amazingly cephalopods can quickly change their color, texture and shape, as well as defend themselves using ink that their bodies create,or by squeezing through minuscule spaces! They have three hearts and blue blood making them very different from other species such as mammals. Zipping along the ocean floor they can propel themselves at a tremendous speed! Regarding location, cephalopods can live in all oceans, no matter how yawning, or in any temperature of water. Cephalopods are more intelligent than their variety of cousins the oysters, clams, and garden slugs; yet their senses rival ours. Many sagas and epics have been inspired because of cephalopods since recorded history, including the classic story 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea which stars a giant squid. Cephalopods are indeed a unique group of creatures.

2 comments:

Mel said...

That was an excellent report. I've long found the cephalopods frascinating, as they really are an incredibly intelligent group of animals. It used to be said that what separated humans from other animals was our ability to reason, but research with cephalopods and a lot of other species have shown that this isn't really the case. They have an amazing capacity to solve problems. Good job!

Mel said...

And I just realized that I misspelled fascinating, though I suppose it's possible that cephalopods could be "frascinating," as well.