Cephalopod eight or ten. Decapods such as cuttlefish and squid have five pairs. The longer two, termed "tentacles", are actively involved in capturing prey; they can lengthen rapidly (in as little as 15 milliseconds). In giant squid they may reach a length of 8 metres. They may terminate in a broadened, sucker-coated club. The shorter four pairs are termed "arms", and are involved in holding and manipulating the captured organism. They too have suckers, on the side closest to the mouth; these help to hold onto the prey. Octopods only have four pairs of sucker-coated arms, as the name suggests, though
Cephalopod attack Cephalopod attack Various accounts of cephalopod attacks on humans have been reported since the 13th century. Cephalopods are members of the class Cephalopoda, which include all squid, octopuses, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. Some members of the group are capable of causing injury or even death to humans. Tentacles are the major organs used by squid for defending and hunting. They are often confused with arms—octopuses have eight arms, while squid and cuttlefish have eight arms and two tentacles. These tentacles are generally longer than arms and typically have suckers only on their ends instead of along the entire length. The giant