Here are 90 interesting facts about octopuses:
- Octopuses belong to a group of animals called cephalopods, which also include squid and cuttlefish.
- They’re among the most intelligent invertebrates, possessing both short- and long-term memory.
- Octopuses have three hearts – two pump blood to the gills and the third to the rest of the body.
- When an octopus swims, the heart that pumps blood to the rest of the body stops beating, which is why octopuses prefer to crawl rather than swim, conserving energy.
- Octopuses have blue blood due to a copper-based protein called haemocyanin.
- They’re extremely flexible because they don’t have a rigid skeleton.
- An octopus can squeeze through any opening larger than its beak, the only hard part of its body.
- Octopuses have excellent eyesight and can detect polarised light.
- They’re masters of camouflage. An octopus can change its colour, pattern, and even texture to blend in with its surroundings.
- This ability to change appearance is used not only for hiding but also for communicating with other octopuses, hunting, and courting.
- Some species of octopus are venomous.
- The most venomous octopus is the blue-ringed octopus, which carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes.
- Octopuses have beaks similar to a parrot’s which they use to crack open shellfish.
- In the centre of the arms of an octopus, you will find its mouth, which houses this sharp beak.
- Each of an octopus’s eight arms is lined with about 240 suckers, each one capable of taste and touch.
- Octopus arms are semi-autonomous. Even when severed, an arm will react to stimuli and try to grasp food.
- The suckers of an octopus are so sensitive, they can pick up subtle chemical signals in the water.
- They are solitary creatures and prefer to be alone, except during mating.
- In most species, the male octopus dies a few months after mating. Females die shortly after their eggs hatch as they stop eating to guard their eggs.
- An octopus uses ink to confuse and escape from predators. This ink also temporarily paralyses the predator’s senses.
- Octopuses are capable of regenerating lost arms.
- The Giant Pacific Octopus, the largest species, can grow up to 30 feet across and weigh more than 600 pounds.
- The smallest species, the Octopus wolfi, is only about 2.5 cm in size and weighs less than a gram.
- An octopus has approximately 500 million neurons, more than six times the number in a mouse’s brain.
- Octopuses have been known to use tools, like coconut shells for shelter or rocks to block their den entrances.
- They have been observed playing, engaging with toys, and solving puzzles in captivity.
- Octopuses can walk on two arms, using the other six as a disguise.
- An octopus’s skin can sense light, even without input from the eyes or brain.
- They have distinct personalities and can exhibit traits like curiosity, assertiveness, and even playfulness.
- Octopuses have relatively short lifespans, ranging from only half a year for some species to up to five years for others.
- Some species of octopuses exhibit astounding abilities to mimic other animals, like flounder, sea snakes, and lionfish.
- Octopuses can “taste” with their arms. This sense of taste comes from chemoreceptors on their suckers.
- The eggs of octopuses can range from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a grape.
- A single octopus can lay up to 400,000 eggs, but only a few usually survive to adulthood.
- Octopuses are known for their Houdini-like escapes in both wild and captive settings due to their problem-solving skills.
- They can move in any direction and alter their body shape, which helps in hunting and evading predators.
- Octopuses are poikilothermic animals, meaning they can change their body temperature according to their environment.
- Some species of octopuses, like the blanket octopus, exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, where females can be up to 40,000 times heavier than males.
- Despite being soft-bodied, octopuses are formidable hunters, feeding on shrimps, lobsters, and even small sharks.
- They are known to use a ‘jet propulsion’ method for rapid escape, where water is forcefully ejected from a siphon on their bodies.
- Octopuses show diurnal rhythms, meaning they have specific periods of rest and activity.
- They are known for their remarkable growth rates. The Giant Pacific Octopus grows from the size of a rice grain to 100 pounds in just two years.
- Octopuses don’t have any auditory organs, so they don’t hear sounds like we do.
- They can detect local electric fields, which is helpful for locating prey.
- The seven-arm octopus (Haliphron atlanticus) is so-called because in males, the hectocotylus (a specially modified arm used in egg fertilization) is coiled in a sac beneath the right eye and is often mistaken for a missing arm.
- Some deep-sea octopuses like Graneledone boreopacifica have the longest known brooding period of any animal. They guard their eggs for an astonishing 4.5 years!
- There’s an octopus species known as the Dumbo octopus that has ear-like fins protruding from its head, resembling the ears of Disney’s Dumbo the elephant.
- The Argonaut octopus has a shell, a rarity among octopuses. Females construct a thin, white, paper-like shell to use as a brood chamber.
- The octopus’s nervous system is highly complex, with two-thirds of its neurons located in the nerve cord of its arms.
- The Southern Sand Octopus can build a quicksand-like lair by shooting jets of water into the seabed.
- Octopuses don’t have tentacles – they have arms. The term ‘tentacles’ is reserved for appendages that are typically longer than arms and have a small sucker, or none at all, at the end.
- Octopuses have a sense of touch that extends to their skin, allowing them to change their colouration upon touching different surfaces.
- Some octopuses exhibit bipedal locomotion, meaning they walk on two of their arms.
- They don’t have blind spots because their pupils are rectangular and allow them to focus light from all directions.
- The nervous system of an octopus is distributed, meaning it doesn’t entirely rely on a central brain for command. Some decisions are made by clusters of neurons in its arms.
- The intelligence of an octopus is thought to have evolved to help it in complex tasks like opening shells, navigating the seafloor, and camouflaging.
- Octopuses show problem-solving abilities and have been known to unscrew lids to get to food.
- There’s a type of octopus known as the Star-sucker Pygmy Octopus which is one of the smallest species, reaching an arm span of only 10 cm.
- Octopuses have been known to collect shells and other objects to create “gardens” around their lairs.
- The ink of an octopus contains a compound called tyrosinase, which in addition to creating a smoke screen for escape, also messes up a predator’s sense of smell and taste.
- The Greater Blue-ringed Octopus, one of the most venomous marine animals, changes colours dramatically when threatened.
- Octopuses are believed to be colourblind, but they possibly interpret colour information from the polarization of light.
- There’s a species of octopus known as the Football Octopus that blows itself up into a balloon-like shape to appear larger when threatened.
- Female octopuses often eat their mates after copulation.
- They can modify their RNA, a process not found in most other animals. This may explain their problem-solving abilities and adaptation skills.
- Octopuses have a salivary papilla in their mouths that can drill through the shells of prey, allowing them to inject paralysing saliva.
- Most octopuses are nocturnal and do their hunting at night.
- Octopuses can detect pressure changes in the water with their lateral line system, a sense organ common to many aquatic vertebrates.
- Some octopuses have an arm span as wide as 4.3 metres.
- The common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) is found in every ocean.
- The octopus’s lifespan varies between species. The Pacific Octopus can live for up to five years, while some smaller species may live for only a few months.
- The ‘Octopus Wrestling’ was a popular sport in the mid-20th century, particularly in California. The practice has since been discouraged due to environmental and animal rights concerns.
- The ability of octopuses to change colour is not just for camouflage. It’s also a way for them to communicate with each other.
- Octopuses are known to sometimes engage in autophagy, or self-eating. Scientists believe this happens when the octopus is stressed or diseased.
- In many cultures, octopuses are considered a culinary delicacy.
- Some octopuses have been known to exhibit play behaviour, such as blowing bottles around in their tanks with a water jet.
- The mimic octopus can not only change its colour but also take on the shape of other animals.
- Each of an octopus’s arms has its own ‘mini-brain’ to control movement.
- Male octopuses have a specialized arm called a hectocotylus, which they use to deliver sperm to the female.
- Octopuses’ arms have a mind of their own. Even after being severed, the arms can still react to stimuli.
- Some octopuses have been known to perform acrobatic tricks in exchange for food rewards, displaying their learning capabilities.
- Octopuses can eject a cloud of ink when they feel threatened. This ink forms a dark cloud that obscures the octopus, allowing it to escape from predators.
- Some species of octopus can regenerate their arms if they lose one.
- Female octopuses sometimes blow gentle streams of water over their eggs to keep them clean and oxygenated.
- When an octopus loses an arm, it can grow a new one within a few weeks.
- A group of octopuses is called a consortium.
- Octopuses have been observed opening childproof bottles, demonstrating their problem-solving skills.
- Some species of octopuses can inflate themselves with water to appear larger and more threatening.
- The eye of an octopus works in the same way as the human eye but, unlike humans, octopuses don’t have a blind spot.
- There is a species of octopus, the Atlantic White-spotted Octopus, that can break off an arm when threatened. The arm continues to crawl away, distracting predators and giving the octopus a chance to escape.
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