Cephalopods

You like octopi, squid and cuttlefish.

Most invertebrates are morons. This giant class of animals contains beasts as diverse as lobster and oysters, slugs and sea sponges. And smack in the middle of this class full of dunces slips the cephalopods, the unlikely geniuses. Octopi can open jars and navigate mazes, not to mention use rudimentary tools, while squid and cuttlefish use flashing lights along their bodies to communicate with each other.

It's not just smarts, though. Squid include one of the largest monsters of the deep, the Colossal, while cuttlefish include one of the smallest -- the beautiful, lethal Flamboyant (the Blue-ringed octopus is another cute killer).

Third in their triumvirate of intriguing qualities would have to be their ability to morph their bodies, altering skin textures and colour, and slipping their elastic bodies through the most convoluted contortions.

So raise a briny glass to your neighbourhood kraken, and thank the gods they didn't end up on the top of the evolutionary chain.

Oh, I should mention the fourth kind of cephalopod, the nautilus. These prehistoric survivors are interesting only because they've survived for eons. But they're dumb as posts. You hear that, nautilids? Go fuck yourselves.