Marine Living

Cephalopods are mollusks in the Class Cephalopoda, which includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautilus. These are ancient species that are thought to have originated about 500 million years ago. There are about 800 species of cephalopods in existence today.

All cephalopods have a ring of arms surrounding their head, a beak made of chitin, a shell (although only the nautilus has an exterior shell), a merged head and foot, and eyes that can form images.

Cephalopods are intelligent, with relatively large brains. They are also masters of camouflage, changing their color and even pattern and texture to match their surroundings. They range in size from less than 1/2 an inch long to about 30 feet long.

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