Squid dissection !

On Friday, November 7th our bio class did a fun and exciting squid dissection ! Unfortunately i had a fever so i missed out on this lab, which sucks big time. Talking to peers, and my other friends from other blocks, this lab was a lot of fun, and a great learning experience, even though it was gross too. I really wish i was here for this dissection, because i love getting to try new things, and this is something i definitely would have wanted to do. I would never get the chance to do something like this outside of bio class either, so i missed out. Especially since im the type of person were i learn better, when i can see it physically and its hands on. Im a visual learner, so this would have been so cool to see. Since i missed this lab, the pictures i will be using are from peers and other friends, also from online.

Squids are a member of the Phylum Mollusca, and are part of the class Cephalopoda. This group has the most complex brain from any other invertebrate. All squids are covered in a soft body and a covering called the mantle, this also encloses all of the important body organs such as the heart, stomach and gills. They feed on fish, marine, worms and sometimes other squids as well. The squid use tentacles to catch their prey, then it is pulled in from the arms and down to the beak. The size of the squids can depend, some are as small as thumbnails, and some can be as big as a house, they can measure upto 60 feet in length.


External Anatomy Questions

1) How many arms does your squid have? How many tentacles?
Squid's have 8 arms and 2 tentacles

2) Based on the structures of the arms and the tentacles, describe how their purpose differ. What do the arms do and what do the tentacles do ?
The arms and tentacles jobs are to grasp prey, they use it to get food.

3) Draw arrows on the squid below to indicate the direction that water comes our of the funnel and the direction that the squid moves

The funnel is were the water comes out of. The squid moves backwards in water

4) Name two external features that are adaptations for the squids predatory life. How do these adaptations help the squid?
 Some external features that squids use are tentacles, water jet, large eyes and fins

Internal Anatomy Questions

5) Do you remember the general traits of molluses we discussed in lecture? Name two traits that the squid shares with other mollusks.
Soft body, body cavity, bilateral symmetry are some general traits.

6) How many pairs of gills does the squid have?
The squid have a total of four gills, usually two of them are on each side

7) Where does the ink sac empty into and what is its function?
The ink sack emptys into the funnel, and the function is that it can ink other predators so it can help it get away

8) What is the function of the pen? What would happen if the squid didnt have a pen?
The pens job is to support the squids mantle. If a squid didnt have a pen then it would not be able to get the proper support or nutrients

9) How do you think wastes exit the squid?
Squids have a proper and complete digestive system. The wastes exit through the anus, which opens in the middle of the body.