Octopoda

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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.

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