cephalopod ink

He escapes by squirting cephalopod ink on them and himself and running away.

Recent studies have shown that cephalopod ink is toxic to some cells, including tumor cells.

Cephalopod ink contains a number of chemicals in a variety of different concentrations, depending on the species.

The cephalopod ink sac is a modified hypobranchial gland.

For example, an octopus may emit a puff of atrament (see cephalopod ink).

Cephalopod ink is a dark pigment released into water by most species of cephalopod, usually as an escape mechanism.

A form of melanin makes up the ink used by many cephalopods (see cephalopod ink) as a defense mechanism against predators.

Modern use of cephalopod ink is generally limited to cooking, where it is used as a food colouring and flavouring, for example in pasta and sauces.

Cephalopod ink is nonetheless generally thought to be more sophisticated than a simple "smokescreen"; the ink of a number of squid and cuttlefish has been shown to function as a conspecific chemical alarm.

However, many cephalopod predators (for instance moray eels) have advanced chemosensory systems, and some anecdotal evidence suggests that compounds such as tyrosinase found in cephalopod ink can irritate, numb or even deactivate such apparatus.

Cephalopod ink has, as its name suggests, been used in the past as ink; indeed, the Greek name for cuttlefish, and the taxonomic name of a cuttlefish genus, Sepia, is associated with the brown colour of cuttlefish ink (for more information, see sepia).