Octopoda

views updated

Octopoda (octopuses, devilfish; class Cephalopoda, subclass Coleoidea) An order of cephalopods which have eight long arms possessing suckers and a round, sack-like body. A few have a much reduced, internal shell. Probably they arose from a belemnite (Belemnitida) forebear, some time in the early Cretaceous. Since they lack hard parts they have a poor fossil record.