The Physiology of Squids

TAXONOMY: 

Kingdom ANIMALIA

Phylum MOLLUSCA

Class CEPHALOPODA 

Superorder: Decapodiformers: leach, 1917

Subclass: Coleoidea

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Cephalopods arise from an ancient class of the Phylum Mollusca dating back to the Upper Cambrian Period, which lies at around 500 million years in the past (Gestal et al., 2019).  Cephalopods now stand as one of the most dominant predators that scours the ocean and are a large part due to their evolved, low-pressure buoyancy mechanics.  There are two divisions within these cephalopods, the first being the Nautiloidea, and the second being the Coleoidea, containing around 800 species such as squids and cuttlefishes (Gestal et al., 2019).