The Brains and Lives of Cephalopods

The book describes the brains and sense organs of 57 of the 139 genera of the class Cephalopoda, many in great detail, as well as a variety of morphological features. The text is well-illustrated with fully labelled line drawings and photomicrographs. Attention is drawn to the many gaps in our knowledge of these intriguing marine invertebrates with a view to stimulating future research.

Cephalopods are fast-moving, voracious predators, and can change colour with breath-taking rapidity. They range from the giant squid, the world's largest marine invertebrate, to species of only 2 cm in length. Inhabitants of most seas of the world, they are found from the surface to great depths. Most cephalopods have short lives yet their efficiency in capturing and consuming prey ensures rapid growth. These animals possess highly-developed nervous systems, large brains, elaborate senses, complex behaviour and are capable of learning. Many of these features are described and illustrated with line drawings and photomicrographs.

1: Introduction; 2: The Central Nervous System and Sensory Systems: an outline; 3: Nautilidae; 4: Spirulidae; 5: Sepiidae; 6: Sepiolidae; 7: Idiosepiidae; 8: Pickfordiateuthidae and Loliginidae; 9: Ctenopterygidae; 10: Enoploteuthid group; 11: Neoteuthidae; 12: Lycoteuthidae; 13: Histioteuthidae; 14: Bathyteuthidae; 15: Architeuthidae; 16: Ommastrephidae; 17: Onychoteuthidae; 18: Gonatidae; 19: Brachioteuthidae; 20: Lepidoteuthidae and Pholidoteuthidae; 21: Octopoteuthidae; 22: Thysanoteuthidae; 23: Cycloteuthidae; 24: The 'Chiroteuthid Lineage'; 25: Cranchiidae; 26: Vampyroteuthidae; 27: The Cirroctopodida; 28: Amphitretidae; 29: Bolitaenidae; 30: Vitreledonellidae; 31: Octopodidae; 32: Tremoctopodidae; 33: Argonautidae; 34: Alloposidae; 35: Ocythoidae; Appendix; References