Colossal Squid AWARENESS.

This post is all about colossal squid awareness.
There will probably be a few more about giant squids, along with other awe-inspiring        denizens of the deep.
I just want people to be aware of how incredible these giants really are.

AWARENESS - This specimen, caught in early 2007, is the largest cephalopod ever recorded. Here it is shown in its live state during capture, with the delicate red skin still intact and the mantle characteristically inflated. Link to the Source.

The team holds up the thawed colossal squid in the tank. The mantle and tail fin are twisted, showing the ventral side.

Clockwise from left:

Dr Tsunemi Kubodera, Dr Kat Bolstad, Mark Fenwick, Dr Olaf Blaauw, Dr Steve O'Shea.

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A typical squid has:

a streamlined body, a clear internal shell known as a gladius or pen, a head, a mantle (which fits like a hat over the main part of the body), eight arms, two tentacles with hooks, or sucker rings, or both, two fins 

A typical octopus has:

a round, bulbous body, no internal shell, a head, a mantle, eight arms with suckers (never hooks), no tentacles and no fins

Those two pictures are from this Source.

another small comparison chart, from here.

take it easy ;)