# When is a squid an octopus? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 28, 2002, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547 "2002-03-28T13:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/1 "2002-03-28T13:18:48Z")
[When it’s reported on CNN](http://www.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/03/27/octopus.nz/index.html) Give me a break. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/2 "2002-03-28T13:21:58Z")
I guess I should have read the caption to the picture. But it’s obvious I didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Legomancer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/779978/32.png) [@Legomancer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legomancer)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/3 "2002-03-28T14:54:39Z")
Who here likes pie? ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/4 "2002-03-28T16:17:51Z")
Okay, I’m thoroughly confused. Squid and octopus are not the same animal, right? And they refer to it as both in the course of the article. ---
**Author:** ![TroubleAgain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TroubleAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroubleAgain)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/5 "2002-03-28T16:18:52Z")
Okay, never mind. I understand what they are saying now. Darn, what a confusing article that was. ---
**Author:** ![armedmonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@armedmonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/armedmonkey)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/6 "2002-03-28T16:37:50Z")
I don’t think the squid in the picture is a giant squid. > [@](#): > > It [the octopus] would easily have been four-plus meters in total length and a weight of 70-75 kg (154-165 pounds), if not more – it’s a very big octopus, the size of a fully mature male giant squid." But the giant squid can be up to 18 m (59 ft) and **900 kg** (1980 lbs) [http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN\_PLANET/HTML/squid\_Architeuthis.html](http://seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov/OCEAN_PLANET/HTML/squid_Architeuthis.html) It’s possible the males are smaller, but I don’t think they would be less than one tenth the size of the females. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/7 "2002-03-28T18:09:51Z")
FYI Here’s the [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1898000/1898313.stm) angle on the story. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Bird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Little\_Bird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Bird)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2002, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-is-a-squid-an-octopus/100547/8 "2002-03-28T18:32:03Z")
I like pie.