Quck answer
Squid is a proxy server that works by intercepting client requests and forwarding them to servers. Squid caches frequently accessed content, reducing server load and improving performance. It also includes features such as access control, traffic management, and logging. Squid can be configured to work with different protocols, including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, and SSL. It can also be used as a transparent proxy, allowing clients to access the internet without changing their settings. Squid is widely used in enterprise networks, ISPs, and content delivery networks.
Wildlife
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Picture courtesy of Consumer Guide Products
In the novel “20,000 Leagues under the Sea” by Jules Verne, a colossal squid attacks a submarine.
Over 300 years ago, rumors circulated about a multi-armed creature with tentacles as tall as a ship’s mast living in the depths of the ocean. Jules Verne wrote in his classic science-fiction novel, “20,000 Leagues under the Sea,” that one grip of this colossal creature’s massive arms “could entangle a ship of five hundВred tons and hurry it into the abyss of the ocean.”
Although no such creature exists, the tales are likely based on sightings of giant squids, real but evasive creatures that can grow up to 60 feet long with tentacles reaching 30 feet long. Few animals have provoked as much awe and terror as the giant squid.
The giant squid’s smaller relatives are more well-known, though no less captivating. Squids are nimble, quick, and surprisingly intelligent animals with brains that are closer in proportion to those of mammals than those of fish or reptiles.
In this article, you’ll get familiar with the often misconstrued squid, encounter some of the unusual animals that are part of this species, and discover what happened when experts finally faced the enigmatic giant squid.
Squid are mollusks that belong to the class Cephalopoda along with octopus, cuttlefish, and nautilus. Unlike other mollusks, squid have a soft outer body and an inner shell. Squid are further divided into octopods and decapods. Many animals and birds like sperm whale, grey-headed albatross, tuna, marlin, shark, seals, and penguins feast on squid. Squid is also a part of human diet and is popular in regions bordering the Mediterranean Sea and Japan. The earliest squid were slow-moving creatures that lived in shallow waters. Squid come in a wide variety of sizes and appearances and are the most intelligent invertebrates. The squid’s body is enclosed in a mantle, which sits behind the head. Squid use their funnel for excreting waste and defensive ink.
The jumbo squid escapes from a diver with its powerful swimming ability using its funnel to propel itself up to 25 body lengths a second. Squid use their speed, agility, and camouflage to protect themselves from predators. They release ink, called sepia, to confuse attackers and have pigment cells, called chromatophores, on their arms that can change the color and texture of their skin to blend in with their surroundings. Squid are carnivorous and enjoy eating small fish, crabs, and shrimp. Global warming may benefit squid populations, as they tend to grow larger and more plentiful in warmer waters. Squid reproduce sexually, and after mating, they lay fertilized eggs that hatch into smaller versions of their parents. Squid typically live fast and die young, with their entire life cycle taking just one year. However, deep-water squid may have longer life spans.
Different Kinds of Squid
There are around 300 species of squid in the world. The two main suborders of squid are called
myopsida
and
oegopsida
. The myopsida suborder lives in shallow waters, has suckers on their tentacles and a transparent membrane covering their eyes. Let’s take a look at some common types of myopsida suborder:
- California market squid ( Loligo opalescens) – Market squid live in shallow waters along the Pacific coast from Mexico to Alaska. They are commonly found in Monterey Bay in California where they have been fished since the 1800s.
- Common European squid ( Loligo vulgaris) – European squid are found in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean. They live in depths between 65 to 850 feet (20 to 250 meters) and are usually small, weighing around 3.3 pounds (1.5 kilograms) and measuring 16 inches (42 centimeters) in length.
- Caribbean reef squid ( Sepioteuthis sepioidea) – These squid live in the Caribbean Sea and off the coast of Florida. They look more like cuttlefish than other types of squid, with larger fins and a wider body shape.
Image credit: Hans Hillewaert, used under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike License 2.5
European squid
The oegopsida suborder lives in the deep sea and open ocean. They have tentacles lined with hooks and/or suckers, and no cornea over their eyes. Here are a few common varieties of the oegopsida suborder:
Image credit: E.Widder/HBOI/ NOAA Ocean Explorer
A bioluminescent squid, shown here with bioluminescent fish, jellyfish and shrimp, lives in the ocean below 1,640 feet (500 meters).
- Shortfin squid ( Illex illecebrosus) – These squid live in the Atlantic Ocean, from Florida to Newfoundland, Canada. They migrate longer than average distances and travel south to lay their eggs in warmer waters.
- Deep-sea luminescent squid ( Taningia danae) – These squid live in depths of up to 3,000 feet in the North Atlantic, and off the coasts of Bermuda, Hawaii, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand. They create their own light (bioluminescence) to survive in the dark, using organs called photophores. The Taningia danae squid was named after the Danish research ship, Dana, which caught one off the coast of the Cape Verde Islands in 1931.
- Humboldt squid ( Dosidicus gigas) – These squid live in the eastern Pacific. They are large, aggressive predators, known as “red devils” for their red skin and vicious attacks. They can even take on sharks. Humboldt squid can grow up to 7 to 15 feet in length and weigh as much as 100 pounds.
Image credit: NOAA Encyclopedia of the National Marine Sanctuaries
Vampire squid
Deep in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the vampire squid from hell (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) can be found with its red glowing eyes. It belongs to the squid order Vampyromorpha and gets its name from its black body, red eyes, and webbed arms that resemble Dracula’s cape. Despite its eerie appearance, it is a gentle creature that waits for its prey before catching it with its webbed arms. Moving on, we will explore the truth behind the legends of the giant and colossal squids.
For centuries, people have shared stories of monstrous sea creatures with many arms. Homer’s “Odyssey” spoke of a many-headed sea monster called Scylla, and Jules Verne’s “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” featured giant squid attacking the Nautilus submarine. These tales were likely based on real sightings of the giant squid (Architeuthis), the largest invertebrate in the world and the biggest member of its species. These massive creatures can grow up to 60 feet in length, weigh almost 1,000 pounds, and have eyes as big as soccer balls. Their tentacles can reach 35 feet long and are lined with suckers measuring two inches in diameter.
Giant squid are rarely seen, making them a mystery to scientists. For the most part, scientists have only seen giant squid when they were found among the stomach contents of sperm whales, their only known predators. The scars found on the whales’ jaws and lips proved the battle that took place to capture the giant squid. In 2005, a team of Japanese marine biologists managed to take photographs of the giant squid for the first time. It took them three years to locate the giant squid by following sperm whale migration patterns. They finally captured photographs of the creature attacking bait on a line. During the struggle to free itself from the line, it lost one of its 18-foot-long tentacles, which the scientists were able to recover. A year later, they were able to capture a giant squid for further study.
Scientists have gained more knowledge about the colossal squid in recent years. This type of squid is even more intimidating than the giant squid. In 2007, fishermen on a New Zealand boat caught a colossal squid while fishing in Antarctic waters. The squid weighed 990 pounds and would have produced calamari “the size of tractor tires” if cooked. The squid was taken to New Zealand’s national museum for further study.
There is a lot more information available about sea creatures. Check out the related articles on HowStuffWorks, such as “How Jellyfish Work,” “How Sharks Work,” and “How Whales Work.” There are also great links to websites like The Cephalopod Page and NASA’s In Search of Giant Squid.
Sources for further reading include Encyclopedia of Animals and the book Evolutionary Wars: A Three-Billion-Year Arms Race. There are also news articles such as “Could Warming Lead to Squid Boom?” and “How the Colossal Squid Was Caught.” AccessScience@McGraw Hill is another useful resource for learning more about deep-sea squid.
FAQ
1. What is Squid?
Squid is a high-performance open-source proxy caching server that is used to improve the web browsing experience and reduce bandwidth usage. It caches frequently requested web pages, images, and other content, making them available from a local cache instead of fetching them from the internet every time they are requested.
2. How does Squid work?
Squid works by intercepting and caching web requests from clients. When a client requests a web page, Squid checks its cache to see if it already has a copy of the page. If it does, it serves the page from the cache. If it doesn’t, it fetches the page from the internet and caches it for future requests.
3. What are the benefits of using Squid?
The benefits of using Squid include faster web browsing, reduced bandwidth usage, improved security, and better control over web access. Squid can also be used to filter and block unwanted content, such as ads and malware.
4. What types of content can Squid cache?
Squid can cache a wide range of content, including HTML pages, images, videos, and other multimedia files. It can also cache software updates, app downloads, and other types of files.
5. How do you configure Squid?
Squid can be configured using a text editor and a configuration file. The configuration file specifies the settings and options that Squid should use, such as cache size, cache location, and access control rules. Squid also supports a web-based management interface for easier configuration.
6. What is SquidGuard?
SquidGuard is an open-source content filtering plugin for Squid. It allows administrators to block access to certain websites and content based on predefined rules and categories. SquidGuard can be used to enforce web usage policies in schools, businesses, and other organizations.
7. How does Squid improve web security?
Squid can improve web security by caching frequently requested content and serving it from a local cache instead of fetching it from the internet every time it is requested. This can reduce the risk of malware and other security threats. Squid can also be configured to block access to malicious or unwanted websites and content.
8. What are the system requirements for running Squid?
The system requirements for running Squid depend on the size and complexity of the network and the amount of traffic that is expected. In general, Squid requires a Linux or Unix-based operating system and at least 512 MB of RAM and 1 GB of disk space. However, larger networks may require more powerful hardware.
9. How popular is Squid?
Squid is a widely used proxy caching server that is popular among web administrators and developers. It is estimated that Squid is used by hundreds of thousands of websites and servers worldwide, including some of the largest and most popular websites on the internet.
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