Interesting Facts About Octopus

Today I will share some information about an animal which has many myths associated with it: The Octopus. I hope after reading this article you will be able to tell which are  the original octopus facts and which are just the myths. So here we go:

Interesting Octopus Facts

The octopus is a cephalopod (meaning foot originated from the head)and closely related to squids and cuttlefish.

The name octopus refers to an animal with eight arms. there is a common mistake to refer to an octopus’ arms as tentacles. All of the arms bear suction cups.

Octopuses have a very short life span. They can live from 6 months to 5 years depending on the species. Usually they reproduce once in their lifetime. 

Male octopus dies within one month of the reproduction while female dies shortly after their eggs hatch. 

Female octopuses are also known sometimes to eat their male partners after copulation. Young octopus learns no behavior from their parents.

Octopus Diet:

Want to know what an octopus eats? The octopi are actually very agile hunters; they eat mainly crabs, lobsters, fish, and other molluscs.

The octopus can smell through its arms along with using it as a tactile organ because of the presence of olfactory nerves.

They have a very strong mimetic ability and are even greater than chameleons(who are famous for their camouflage).

Octopus not only imitate the color of the surroundings but also the texture. So they can easily catch their prey as well as escape from the predators.

Learn more about Squids 

Octopuses also possess the power of regeneration. When attacked by predators they can detach their arm (which will grow within a week or so) and escape.

They can squirt a cloud of ink which is commonly known as octopus ink.  This feature helps them to hide behind the cloud and can confuse both its predators and prey.

Though in popular culture and films octopus have been shown as some monster who can destroy ships and boats with one splash of its arm, Octopuses are neither aggressive nor man eating. And certainly not large enough to crush boats.

The eyes of an octopus are very complex in nature and they have a wonderful sense of eyesight. Their sense of smell and touch is also very sensitive but they lack the auditory senses.

How Many Hearts Does an Octopus Have?

Octopuses have three hearts. The color of the blood of octopus is blue. Unlike human and other vertebrates their blood does not contain haemoglobin, it contains a copper rich protein haemocyanin and it remains dissolved in plasma and not in the blood cells like vertebrates.

They don’t have any bones. They possess a hard beak like parrots. Apart from that they don’t possess any external or internal skeleton.

They can live in diverse regions of the ocean such as coral reefs, pelagic water and ocean floors.

Apart from blue ringed octopus none of them are deadly to humans. Although most of them are venomous.

In the UK till 2013 octopus was the only invertebrate which was protected under Animal Act 1986.

Here is One Of The Most Amazing Octopus Facts

Lastly, talk a little bit about octopus intelligence. Octopuses are the most intelligent among all invertebrates. They can store short term and long term memories. 

They have a very highly complex neuron system and unlike vertebrates most of their skill are not originated from their brain but rather from their arms where most of the nerves remain. 

They have such a strong intelligence but so short life span that many people believe that if they had lived more they would have been a dominant intelligence on earth.

Do You Know How to Distinguish An Octopus From A Squid? watch this video:

Hope this article on Octopus facts is as enjoyable for you to read as it is for me to write. I will be back with some other interesting animal of our Animal kingdom in my next blog.

Are there any more octopus facts that you like me to include in this article? use the comment section below and let me know.