Unlike an octopus, which has no skeleton, squid have an internal shell called a gladius, or pen. Like octopus and cuttlefish, squid are a type of cephalopod, Greek for вЂњhead foot.вЂќ Behind the animalвЂ™s head is a soft, elongated mantle: a muscular space containing its organs. However, while the oldest known example of a squid-like creature attacking prey dates back nearly 200 million years, squid are not known to hunt humans, or sink ships. Squid also come in all sizes: from pygmy squid that are the size of a pinky fingernail to giant squid which may reach as many as 59 feet long-which is perhaps why this gigantic beast inspired the legend of the Kraken. While some squid live in shallow waters, the deepest recording of a bigfin squid was a staggering three miles below the surface. The more than 300 species of squid are found in every ocean, where they can live alone or in schools. But far from brutes that terrorize humans, these masters of deception rely on their wiles to survive, and their ingenious behaviors have pushed forward futuristic innovations like intelligent camouflage and self-healing robots. Squid have been around for millions of years, and inspired legends of terrifying ship-devouring sea monsters.

Are squids carnivores