15 Incredible Octopus Photos and Facts

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By Emy Rodriguez Flores, Redbook

In honor of World Octopus Day, please consider making a donation to Oceana to contribute to the restoration of the world's oceans and protect their critical biodiversity. Oceana is an international organization focused solely on oceans, dedicated to achieving measurable change by conducting specific, science-based campaigns with fixed deadlines and articulated goals. Since its founding, Oceana has won more than 100 victories and protected more than one million square miles of ocean.

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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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It would be impossible to number the entire octopus species in the world. So far, we’ve been able to categorize 300 different species and barely made a dent. National Geographic reports that it’s impossible to successfully categorize the entirety of its species and habits.

Octopuses are the kings/queens of hearts

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According to the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco, Octopuses generally have three hearts. They’re Cephalopods, which means they have more than one heart that helps pump blood throughout their body. One of the hearts stops beating when they swim.

Here's the tiniest octopus

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The Octopus Wolfi is the tiniest currently known. Measuring less than 1 inch and weighing less than 1 gram. It was discovered in 1913 and we still have a lot to learn from this tiny creature.

Octopuses are both warm and cold animals

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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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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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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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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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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.