European squid propulsion. The posterior border is slightly concave. The head is relatively small and has large eyes which are covered with a transparent membrane. Like almost all squid, this species has ten limbs surrounding the mouth and beak: eight are relatively short arms, and two, which form the tentacles, are long, as they are used to catch prey. The fourth left arm of males is a hectocotylus. The European squid can grow up to 30–40 cm in the mantle length, but more usually they are 15–25 cm long. The males are generally bigger than the females and exhibit more rapid rates
Sthenoteuthis pteropus Sthenoteuthis pteropus Sthenoteuthis pteropus, also known as the orangeback flying squid or orangeback squid, is a species of cephalopod in the family Ommastrephidae. It is native to tropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean where it is found to depths of about . Like other squid, "Sthenoteuthis pteropus" is bilaterally symmetrical and has a head with a pair of eyes, eight arms and two tentacles and a fleshy, muscular body known as the mantle. The head is not retractable, the arms have blunt tips and there is a marked crest on the outer surface of the third pair. The tentacles are