This question posed to the class seemed to stump many of us. Though some of us did get it half-right: Squid do indeed have NO bones. But what do they have then? Surely they are not as soft or squishy as the jelly fish. Well here's the answer!

Squids fall under the same family as the mollusks - like oysters, scallops and snails. They have shells instead of bones. But the squid has no shell, you say! Well, the shell is there, just not where we can see it. Squid shells are on the inside, and so we do call it endoskeletons (a skeleton on the inside of the body). BUT these shells are not made of bones, they are merely made of calcium. These squid 'bones' are known as cuttlebone and are sold in many pet shops to provide calcium to birds to stay healthy.

Sharks are another animal which has some bone-confusion. It is a vertebrate (it has a backbone) but it's bones are not classified as bones. They are made of cartiledge, which is softer and flexible. You can find cartiledge in the small bones in our ear and in our noses.

posted - 1:15 PM