An octopus is a sea creature with eight arms, hence its name, because in Greek, okto means eight. Do you want to know more about this amazing animal?
1. The plural of octopus is octopuses.
2. Octopus arms have a mind of their own. About two-thirds of an octopus’s neurons are actually located in its arms.
3. Parenthood kills octopuses. After a male octopus experiences several seconds of octopus sex, he wanders off and dies. The female says goodbye to the world after her children hatch.
4. The average life span of an octopus in the wild is between 1 and 2 years. When a baby octopus is born, it is as tiny as a flea.
5. Octopuses are waaay old. The oldest known octopus fossil belongs to an animal that lived some 296 million years ago.
6. Octopuses have three hearts. Two of the hearts work to move blood beyond the animal’s gills, while the third keeps circulation flowing for the organs.
7. Octopuses can kill some species of sharks if they want to. The mimic octopus is one of the most adept octopuses in the ocean, as it can transform into an array of objects and animals.
8. In the 1960s, octopus wrestling was a famous sport.
9. Octopuses are intelligent creatures with remarkable abilities to think and solve problems. They have been known to escape from their tanks and maneuver through complex environments, demonstrating their impressive problem-solving skills.
10. Octopuses have many interesting qualities, like three hearts.
Is an octopus a fish yes or no?
Is an octopus a fish? The octopus belongs to mollusks. Mollusks have soft bodies and no backbone. An octopus has eight arms, no bones, and three hearts. A fish has a backbone, fins, gills, and one heart. An octopus is an invertebrate. A fish is a vertebrate.
What animal has eight hearts? No animal has eight hearts. An octopus has three hearts. Barosaurus was a dinosaur needing eight hearts to circulate blood to its head.
An octopus belongs to mollusks called cephalopods. Cephalopods include squid. An octopus branches differently from fish. An octopus goes down the mollusk path. A fish goes down the chordata path.
Is it wrong to eat octopus? Octopus is eaten in Korea, Japan and Mediterranean countries. They consider it a delicacy.
An octopus has a muscular foot and radula. The radula is a ribbon-like feeding structure.
An octopus belongs to molluscs called cephalopods. Cephalopods have eight arms and no skeleton. An octopus has a beak and mouth at the center.
Is an octopus an arthropod? An octopus belongs to molluscs called octopoda. They have no relation to arthropods.
How intelligent are octopus compared to humans?
The average octopus IQ is 40. Much lower than the average human IQ of 100. Octopuses have evolved unique abilities. They can complete puzzles, open jars, and escape well. Their intelligence is different from humans. Two-thirds of neurons are in their arms.
Octopuses would outscore most humans at math. They have genius level IQ above 140. Also very good at spatial visuals. However other fields they score low. Researchers found veined octopuses using coconuts as tools. This shows even marine invertebrates do things once thought only humans did.
The octopus has eight divided brains – left and right hemispheres. They are considered the most intelligent invertebrate. They challenge assumptions about animal intelligence. Their nervous system for intelligence is completely different from mammals or birds. It is spread through its body. Two-thirds neurons are not in its brain. Researchers don’t know how this system works but it does. Many neurons communicate without the brain.
The seat of octopus learning and cognitive abilities is similar to the human hippocampus. About 45% of the human genome is jumping genes that evolve as needed. Sequencing octopus genomes revealed similar transposable elements expanded in their brains. This contributed to the complex nervous system evolution.
Chimpanzee IQ estimates are between 20-25. Similar to a human toddler’s brain. The octopus has a central brain between its eyes with 180 million neurons. This determines needs like finding food. Messages go through neuron groupings. Yes octopuses can taste with arms. Their main brain can focus on problem solving and planning.
The octopus is the only invertebrate on the list of world’s most intelligent animals. They have a larger brain for body size than all animals except birds and mammals. They can do tool use, problem-solving, unscrew jar lids. Their seat of learning and cognitive abilities is similar to the human hippocampus. Dogs are not on the intelligence list. Octopuses carry out complex tasks, have excellent memory, and astonishing ability to learn new skills.
What does a common octopus eat?
Octopuses feed on a wide range of prey. They eat clams, snails, shrimp, crab, fish, other invertebrates like squid and cuttlefish. Some octopus species prey on small sharks and even birds. The giant Pacific octopus feeds on various seafood including crustaceans, mollusks and fish.
Octopuses use their arms to sense, taste and grab hard-shelled prey. They stalk, pursue and ambush prey. They use their color-changing ability to hunt. If an octopus snacks inside its home, it discards remains outside.
The common octopus grows over four feet long and weighs up to 22 pounds. The average adult is slightly over three feet long, weighing 12 to 15 pounds. Yes, octopuses eat crustaceans like crabs, shrimp and lobsters. They grab and crush the shells.
Most octopuses eat a variety of prey like fish, crustaceans and mollusks. They are not picky eaters but may avoid some foods. The common octopus occurs all over the world, especially the Mediterranean Sea, Eastern Atlantic Ocean and Japanese waters. It mostly eats crabs, crayfish and bivalve molluscs. It can change color to blend into surroundings and adjust shape to escape predators.
Octopuses exclusively eat meat. Their main prey are smaller creatures – crustaceans, mollusks and small fish. They rarely feed on birds and turtles. Octopuses need a lot of protein. Some species eat 2% to 4% of body weight daily. Most are not picky but show preference for certain foods. We’ve listed 10 foods octopuses like: crabs, clams, snails, shrimp, lobsters, fish, birds and snails.
Octopuses drop down on prey from above. Using powerful suctions on their arms they pull prey into their mouth. Bottom-dwelling octopuses eat mostly mollusks, worms and crustaceans like clams, shrimps, lobsters and snails. Open-ocean octopuses eat fish, birds and snails.
The Octopus Vulgaris species complex includes four octopuses with different geographical distributions – Caribbean Sea and North America; coast of Brazil; coast of South Africa and Japan. In 2016, the Japan species was renamed Octopus Sinensis. Though adult saltwater crocodiles don’t prefer eating octopus and squid, juveniles eat them. Crocodiles have the world’s strongest bite. Only seabirds like the Common Shag prey on octopuses. Shags mostly depend on aquatic creatures for food.
The Common Octopus is widely studied due to its widespread distribution and ease of maintenance in captivity. It is known for its eight legs, bulbous head and lack of bones. Their habitat ranges from the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea to the southern coasts of England and South Africa. They also occur near the Azores, Canary and Cape Verde Islands. An adult Common Octopus grows to about 10 inches long with arms reaching over three feet. It lives 1-2 years and weighs under 20 pounds. Females may eat males after mating. Over 20,000 tons are commercially harvested annually off the northwest African coast.