Octopuses are bizarre, beautiful, clever, and creative. Some are very small, some are extremely large, they are camouflaging pros, and they can solve puzzles… Want to know more about these intriguing ocean aliens?
We have 20 amazing facts about octopuses that will blow your mind… and potentially help you win your next pub trivia night.
1.An octopus is a cephalopod: A group of animals which do not have backbones.
2. Similar to clams, an octopus is a mollusc, in the order ‘Octopoda’. The order Octopoda contains around 300 different species.
3. Depending on the species, octopuses can be found in various depths of the ocean. The dumbo octopus is a species that can be found as deep as one mile underwater.
4. The word "octopus" comes from the Greek: "oktō" meaning "eight" and "pous" meaning "foot".
5. Octopuses have three hearts and their blood is blue due to being copper-based.
6. Octopuses are considered to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates. They have been known to use tools, open jars, complete mazes, and even recognise individual human faces.
7. An octopus’s arms are lined with hundreds of suckers. They use these suckers to grab and hold things. The suckers are incredibly strong; The suckers on a Giant Pacific octopus for example can hold 35lbs each.
8. An octopus’s skin contains thousands of specialized cells that allow them to change color. Changing color helps them to camouflage into their surroundings to avoid danger. These cells are called chromatophores, and each chromatophore has a sac at the center which is filled with pigments of red, yellow, black, or brown. They can change color in less than 30milliseconds.
9. Depending on the species, octopuses come in various sizes, from one inch to 30ft long.
10. Octopuses have quite short lifespans. Depending on the species, some octopuses can live to be three or four years old, whereas smaller species can only live for six months or one year.
11. Bored octopuses will often eat their own arms. This is called autophagy.
12. An octopus’s arms are not to be mistaken for tentacles. Most octopuses have eight arms and no tentacles, whereas most cuttlefish and squid will have eight arms and two tentacles. Here is how you can tell the difference: If the invertebrate structure has suckers only at the tip, it is a tentacle, if it has suckers along the whole length, it is an arm.
13. An octopus will release a dark colored ink to protect itself when it feels in danger. The cloud of ink confuses predators and hides the octopus while it makes a quick getaway.
14. An octopus’s mouth is below the arms and is a hard, sharp beak.
15. Octopuses are only found in saltwater.
16. An octopus can regrow its arms, without any loss of function.
17. To reproduce, the male will use one of its arms to insert a sperm sac into the female. This arm is extra long, which allows the male to keep a distance during the mating process. This is an adaptation that has occurred due to females often killing and eating the males during or after mating.
18. A Giant Pacific octopus can weigh more than 600lbs.
19. Octopuses not only have the ability to change color, they can also change their skin’s texture, too. Using small regions in their skin known as papillae, which contract and draw soft tissue to the surface, the octopus can blend in better with corals and rocks.
20. Female octopuses can lay up to around 100,000 eggs. She will often die shortly after the eggs hatch.
Now you have learned so much about octopuses, you are probably dying to go and dive with one. Here are the best places to try and spot a few of them in the wild:
1.Anilao, Philippines
In hues of red, orange, and brown, with splodges and stripes of white, the Wonderpus octopus grows to around nine inches long and can best be found in Anilao in the Philippines.
2. Sulawesi, Indonesia
The Coconut octopus can be found in this area of Indonesia and is known for hiding inside coconut shells to create an armor. They are often spotted in the shallows, where the shells have been discarded.
3. Mabul, Malaysia
As tiny as two inches long, the blue ringed octopus may be cute, but it is the world’s most dangerous octopus. With a toxic bite of tetrodotoxin (the same venom found in pufferfish), these tiny 8 armed beauties can kill a human in minutes. Despite its deadly bite, the blue ringed octopus is extremely beautiful to look at, and will only attack if provoked. So seeing one from a distance is a real treat. Mabul in Malaysia is the best place to find one.
4. Canary Islands, Spain
The common octopus can best be found in the beautiful waters of the Spanish Canary Islands. This octopus has an arm span of around 3ft long, is extremely fast moving through the water, and can fit its entire body into the smallest of spaces. Common does not mean boring when it comes to these beauties!
No, octopuses are not endangered at this point. However, much like many other marine species, octopuses are facing many threats to their survival in the future. Octopuses are a popular cuisine all around the world, and especially in Asia. Overfishing may cause numbers to drop rapidly, as well as habitat destruction from damaging commercial fishing practices, and ocean pollution due to plastic waste.
If you would like to do your part to protect octopuses and other marine life, why not become part of the SSI Blue Oceans movement, which brings like minded people together who want to support conservation and the sustainable use of aquatic environments.
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to gain access to free trial programs and Blue Oceans materials, with access to news, videos, and upcoming events.Do you love learning random fun facts? We do too! Here are 8 (see what we did there) octopus facts you might have never heard of. Trust us- one of these is bound to make your jaw drop!
It’s called a radula and it’s a tongue-like ribbon lined with rows of tiny teeth that are replaced as they wear down.
Octopuses use their radula to scrape food into their mouths, especially clams and mussels.
No problem! If it can’t crack it with its parrot-like beak, it can:
You can also estimate the size and approximate an octopus’s age just by looking at its radula! The average length and width of the radula, along with the number of teeth can be correlated to an octopus’s body weight.
By: Dr. Chelsea Bennice“I’ve found octopus dill holes in bivalves, gastropods, and crabs. Drill hole location in bivalves was over, or close to, the site of adductor muscle attachment so that venomous saliva can effectively separate muscles from the shell (see bivalve picture with adductor muscle location in grey). Drill hole location in gastropods was above the body whorl, which was over the site of muscle attachment. ” – Dr. Chelsea Bennice (aka OctoGirl)
#2 is #PARTYTIME for an octo!
An octopus expels waste through a siphon located on the side of its mantle! The siphon is also responsible for shooting jets of water to propel itself forward, and dispersing ink clouds to protect against predators!
ALL octopuses are venomous, but only two known species contain a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin (TTX)– Can you name them both? (Answers at the bottom of this blog!)
One milligram of TTX can kill a person, making it one of the most known potent natural toxins! To put one milligram in perspective— it’s smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.
TTX is 1,000 times more powerful than cyanide! It is produced by bacteria and is a powerful, fast-acting toxin. A tiny bite could result in:
The toxin goes after your nervous system, blocking nerve signals throughout the body so the first thing you will feel is numbness. Ultimately, it causes complete paralysis of your muscles… including the ones that you need to breathe! YoWza.
Octopuses without TTX use cephalotoxins, a venom that paralyzes the nervous system of their prey while saliva enzymes liquefy muscle tissue, so they can slurp down their meal.
Octopuses can be observed out of the water hunting for crabs on shore, but how do they breathe? Their secret is cutaneous respiration! In certain circumstances, 40% of their oxygen intake can come through their skin.
ON TOP of that, octopuses can see with their skin!!
Light-sensitive proteins called opsins enable octopuses to sense changes in light. Their skin can’t see clear images as their eyes can but it’s pretty cool to think an octopus could stick an arm out of its den and be able to tell if it’s day or night.
Yup, in one-fifth of a second to be exact! It’s all thanks to thousands of chromatophores and an extensive neural network that makes them into underwater billboards.
Chromatophores are small pigment-containing cells that are controlled by an array of muscles and nerves. This tiny, elastic sac of color can be stretched or tightened.
ChromatophoresWhen a chromatophore is relaxed, the sac contracts and leaves an octopus looking white. When muscles around a chromatophore tighten, the sac is pulled open, showing color which can be black, brown, orange, red, or yellow (hello 70s vibes!).
Imagine flexing your muscles and BAM you have a whole new outfit on. Science still hasn’t figured out how they manage these incredible color changes while being colorblind!
Guess what? An octopus doesn’t have any bones!
Instead of having the support of a skeletal bone structure like we do, cephalopods rely on a muscular hydrostat system to keep them in tip-top cephalopod form.
Atlantic Longarm OctopusThink of arms and tentacles like your own tongue! It’s mostly muscles that make licking an ice cream cone possible.
Unlike bone structures with rigid skeletal elements, the octopus can bend, twist, elongate, (and more) at MULTIPLE locations simultaneously. Their muscular hydrostat system allows them to perform complex motor activities all while remaining incredibly flexible.
Octopuses possess short and long-term memory, which means they can observe and remember people and various animals.
A research study on Giant Pacific Octopuses (GPO) at the Seattle Aquarium showed that their behavior, breathing, and colors changed depending on whose face they recognized.
Giant Pacific Octopus at aquarium of the bayEight different GPOs were treated either by a ‘nice’ keeper who gave them food or by a designated ‘mean’ keeper who poked them with a bristly stick. After just two weeks of this, the octopuses would approach the nice keeper but hid away when the mean keeper came around.
There are many stories from aquariums and labs where octopuses will decide who they like and who they will spray in the face with water if they come close enough.
Giant Pacific Octopus by: Marcelo Johan OgataTo protect themselves from predators, an octopus can see 360 degrees around themselves!
How? Their optic nerve fibers route behind the retina and their rectangular pupils help octopuses see in all directions in addition to giving them control over how much light they let into their eyes.
Super helpful when you’re out hunting at night looking for prey but need to watch out for predators at the same time. Good luck trying to sneak up on an octopus when they can scan their environment in every direction!
By: Toni BertranTheir rectangular pupils also allow them to see color! While octopuses are technically colorblind, their dumbbell-shaped pupils act like prisms, scattering white light and splitting it into its color components.
This effect is called chromatic aberration which their wide pupils help to accentuate. When octopuses change the depth of their eyeball, they can focus different wavelengths of light on the retina individually.
Crazy right!?
Psst! Could you name the two venomous octopuses mentioned in fact #3?
ANSWER: They are the lethal Blue-Ringed Octopus and Mototi Octopus!
Did you love the book the Soul of an Octopus? Whelp! March 19th, 2024 Sy is back on the scene with OctoNation’s founder, Warren Carlyle who contributed 16 glorious species profiles to the end of the book! We think you’re gonna love it!
Preorder the book here: SecretsOfTheOctopus.com
If you want to educate yourself some more about all sorts of different cephalopods, take a look at our encyclopedia. Or, what we call it, our Octopedia!
Connect with other octopus lovers via the OctoNation Facebook group, OctopusFanClub.com! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram to keep up to date with the conservation, education, and ongoing research of cephalopods.
Warren is the Founder of OctoNation, a nonprofit organization that works to inspire the wonder of the ocean by educating the world about octopuses. As a professional community building strategist, Warren has collaborated with hundreds of underwater photographers, artists, scientists, and aquarists to create educational resources for both children and adults.
Jacque Cousteau said it best, “People protect what they love.” OctoNation’s community of over 1 million members wholeheartedly agree! Wanna get involved? Email [email protected]