Coleoidea

Coleoidea
Temporal range: Devonian or
A cuttlefish (Decapodiformes)
A common octopus (Octopodiformes)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Coleoidea
Bather, 1888
Division: Neocoleoidea
Haas, 1997
Divisions

See text

Coleoidea or Dibranchiata is one of the two subclasses of cephalopod molluscs containing all the various taxa popularly thought of as "soft-bodied" or "shell-less" (i.e. octopus, squid and cuttlefish). Unlike its sister groups, the shelled Ammonoidea and Nautiloidea, the coleoids have at most an internal shell called cuttlebone or gladius that is used for buoyancy or as muscle attachment. Some species, notably the incirrate octopuses (including commonly known varieties living in the shallows), have lost their internal shell altogether, while in some it has been replaced by a chitinous support structure.