Squid: The Inside Story

How does a squid eat?

Click on the Squid for an mpeg animation (447 kbyes)

A sharp, horny beak cuts up food into bite-sized chunks. The giant squid's beak is 1 1/2 times the size of this one from Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni, a large squid that lives in waters around Antarctica.

3/4 view drawing of squid with open beak and radula sticking out

A file-like radula rams food down the throat and esophagus, which passes directly through the brain to the stomach.

Giant squid radula magnified 30 times by a Scanning Electron Microscope

Photo Credit: Clyde F.E. Roper/National Museum of Natural History

Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan

Smithsonian Giant Squid Overview Page

gene carl feldman / gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov