Wednesday 24 October 2012

Weird and Wonderful: The Giant Squid, some food for thought

Tom Ridler

Did you know that the brain of a giant squid can be found surrounding its oesophagus? That’s right; the gut pipe of this animal goes straight through its brain, meaning food has to pass through the brain on the way to the stomach! The brain is tiny, weighing as little as 100g with as much as 80% devoted to visual cortex. As squid evolved into carnivores they needed to be faster and smarter to hunt effectively. This already strange shape developed large optic lobes and tentacles that could be controlled independently from the brain. As nervous systems go, this is perhaps as weird and wonderful as they come.


Check out this video for more information