Modern Forms
There are currently about 600 species of cephalopods,
of which the dominant subclass is the Coleoidea, which includes
the octopods, squids,
cuttlefish, argonauts,
and the Nautiloidea.
Cephalopods have a large impact on the marine ecosystem, eating
some 15-20% of their body weight per day. Like fish, some species
of squid such as Todarodes pacificus have annual migration
routes for spawning covering over 4000 km, from the East China
Sea to the Kurile Islands, and back again. This species is also
heavily fished, with over 500,000 tonnes being caught annually
off the coast of Japan. The estimated worldwide yearly
catch of squid is put conservatively at 10 m tonnes, making it an
important component of the world fisheries.
Literature and web links
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index page
Websites produced
by students on the MSc
Palaeobiology programme in the Department
of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol for academic
year 2004-5
