Welcome to the Marine Mili series, a regular column about all things marine! During this series I aim to inspire people to want to protect our oceans and all the marine life that call our oceans home. Hopefully after reading each column, you would have learnt something new including what we can do to help protect and preserve our oceans. You can follow me and my journey on my Instagram page: _marine_mili.

The southern calamari squid has a soft elongated body, long tentacles, and large eyes. It is a species of mollusc and is a part of the cephalopod class.

This species can be found in Australia and New Zealand and is commonly seen here in Victoria. Most people know this species just as ‘squid,’ but it is called a calamari squid.

The southern calamari squid feeds on various species of small fish and crustaceans including crabs, shrimp, etc. The squid catch their prey by quickly darting towards it using jet propulsion, then their two long tentacles will reach out to hold the prey in place while their other eight arms help control the prey and bring it to their mouth.

At the squid’s mouth there is a sharp beak-like structure which is used to break the prey into manageable pieces. This beak is described as remarkably similar to a bird’s beak.

Squid also have a unique organ called a radula which is located on the squid’s tongue. This organ helps grind up the prey into smaller pieces.