Page 34 - Reading Success B4

Both octopuses and squids are highly developed mollusks. They live in the sea
and have soft bodies.

The octopus has a large, football shaped head and enormous eyes that are
very similar to those of higher animals. It has excellent vision and a good nervous

system. Its strong, hard, beaklike jaws are used to crush and tear apart its prey,
usually crabs. Eight tentacles, or arms, extend from round the head of the

octopus. The tentacles help the octopus to creep along the rocks and coral
deposits of the ocean bottom. Each arm has two rows of suckers underneath,

which act like suction cups.
The squid has ten tentacles, a long, pointed body, and two triangular fins. It

uses the fins to move through the water. Giant squids are the largest of all animals
without backbones. Squids feed on fish, which they grasp with two of the longest

tentacles, called “grasping arms.”
Both octopuses and squids usually creep along slowly. If danger comes, they

move quickly by shooting streams of water out of a siphon on the body just as
a jet plane is propelled forward by the streams of hot gas from its engines. When

moving in this way, the squid shoots backwards! Squids and octopuses can also
shoot an inky fluid into the water. The ink not only confuses the enemy by hiding

the octopus or squid, but also dulls the enemy’s sense of smell.

Main Idea

What is the main idea of this story?

a. squids are more developed than octopuses

b. the similarities and differences between octopuses and squids
c. how octopuses and squids defend themselves

d. how octopuses and squids use their multiple tentacles

36_Reading Success B 4