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From
the amount of hearts each octopus has to what music they enjoy; our
eight-limbed friends are some of the most interesting sea creatures that
inhabit the oceans. With strong roots in mythology and even stronger
roots within science investigations, the modern-day octopus is a species
that we have yet to fully understand. These fascinating facts are just
scratching the surface...
Octopuses can change color
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| © Luis Javier Sandoval - Getty Images |
Octopuses are extremely colorful. Their cells contain something called
chromatophores, which are basically little balloons that they can
contract producing different shades of color. They can even produce
multiple colors at the same time. Normally, they use this to hide from
predators or communicate with each other. A study at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole in Massachusetts revealed that some even change colors to match the beat of a song (in this case, Cypress Hill).
Octopuses are homebodies
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| © Wild Horizon - Getty Images |
Don’t confuse them for shy, but don’t expect them to be the life of the party either. According to the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California,
Octopuses are solitary creatures that don’t travel in schools or
associate with others outside of mating. They’re usually hiding in caves
unless they're searching for food or something along those lines.
Octopuses are dedicated and deadly lovers
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| © Auscape - Getty Images |
According to Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco,
Octopuses only mate once in their lifetime and the females eat the
males after. They do this because they stay with their eggs for as long
as they can up until starvation. The males are usually distinguishable
by their hectocotylus, which sits at the end of their arms and is how
they’re able to mate.
Octopuses are escape artists
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| © JORGE GUERRERO - Getty Images |
Fitting into basically any
crevice or hole, octopuses are extremely agile. The only part of the
body that is solid is their beak. Even with that, they’re able to
squeeze into the smallest spaces without injury or issue. They're even
able to get themselves out of small jars and aquariums. Aquariums have
to create special enclosures sometimes with astroturf (octopuses hate
the texture) to keep them contained. Watch this video as proof.
Octopuses can lay up to 100,000 eggs
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| © Jeff Rotman - Getty Images |
When mating, octopuses can lay up to 100,000 eggs. According to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach,
baby octopuses are only the size of a grain of rice when they hatch and
after a year, only the size of a quarter. The many dangers they face
after hatching are offset by the shear number of baby octopuses.
Octopuses have massive brains
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| © AFP - Getty Images |
They’re able to retain short-term
information, escape from enclosures and learn by mimicking each other.
Octopuses are probably one of the smartest sea creatures out there.
According to Scientific American,
“Octopuses and their relatives (cuttlefish and squid) represent an
island of mental complexity in the sea of invertebrate animals.” One
generalization is that they have nine brains, in reality they have nodes
all throughout their bodies with one centralized brain.
Giant octopuses really do exist
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| © Jeff Rotman - Getty Images |
In the right conditions, octopuses can grow up to 30 feet and weigh 600 pounds says the National Geographic.
The Giant Pacific Octopus, which is commonly found on the northwestern
coast of North America, can reach those heights if plenty of food and
safety is available. The Giant Pacific Octopus can only live up to five
years and most others up to two years.
Octopus species are still being discovered
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| © Nikos Stavrinidis - Getty Images |
Octopuses are the kings/queens of hearts
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| © Steven Hunt - Getty Images |
Here's the tiniest octopus
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| © AndamanSE - Getty Images |
Octopuses are both warm and cold animals
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| © Belive... - Getty Images |
While only existing in salt
water, the octopus can exist in both warm and cold water. The species
that live in warmer water tends to be smaller with the cold water
species being larger, which also effects its reproductive capabilities
according to the Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.
Octopuses are natural inkblots
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| © microdon - Getty Images |
Octopuses can excrete a mixture
of mucus and melanin as a way to protect itself from predators. This
natural form of defense creates a blanket of darkness as seen here,
which allows the octopus to quickly escape. The same melanin the
octopus secretes is what humans have when darker pigments cause brown
eyes and dark hair. It’s also the same ink we use for pens.
They sometimes eat their own arms
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| © DanBrandenburg - Getty Images |
According to the South African Journal of Marine Science,
a bacterium causes the octopuses to eat their own arms and eventually
crucial parts resulting in death. This bacteria incubates within their
system for two weeks before causing the cannibalism. This study debunks
the theory that they eat their arms out of boredom.
Octopuses are natural-born weightlifters
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| © animals, plants, people, landscapes underwater & above - Getty Images |
Already having their ink secretion defense system, octopuses are also able to wrestle and possibly enwrap you with their arms.
Each arm can have up to 240 suction cups that are strong enough to shut
a predator’s mouth and possibly crush them. The Giant Pacific Octopus
has enough strength to move more than 700 pounds!
Coconut octopuses use shells as tools
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| © atese - Getty Images |
Not many sea creatures use tools to help with protection or hunting, but the Coconut Octopus does. It even walks on two legs while carrying a shell!
This medium-sized octopus uses the shell as a tool, but also has the
ability to discriminate between old and new tools. If a newer or better
tool is discovered, it will quickly leave the old behind.
