Octopus Facts

Top Octopus Facts

You already know that the Octopus is an amazing creature, but there are plenty of fun facts to discover about them as well. Chances are you only know the basics of these creatures, but that is all about to change.

The Octopus only lives in oceans due to their need for saltwater.

There is no skeleton for an Octopus. This is why it is able to get into very small spaces.

They are considered to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates.

There are many stories about humans being killed by Octopus but most of them aren’t true at all. One species called the Blue Ring Octopus does give off a type of venom that can kill humans.

The ends of the arms on the Octopus have small suction cups. They have sensors on them that allow them to taste the food.

The life span for an Octopus is very short. Many species don’t live longer than six months. Others can live out to five years. The males often die within a few months of mating. The females usually die after they hatch their eggs.

There are more than 300 known species of Octopus. Most experts believe that there are many more we will discover as time goes on.

Each Octopus has three hearts. Two of them allow the blood to circulate to the gills. The other is for the body to circulate the blood.

Octopus can change their coloring to blend into the surroundings for protection. They can also try to act like an Eel or other animals to scare off predators.

A female Octopus can lay up to 200,000 eggs at once depending on the species. Approximately 2/3 of the offspring will die within the first couple of weeks of life.

They have extremely good eyesight.

The largest species of Octopus is the North Pacific Giant Octopus. They can weigh about 100 pounds and have arms up to 14 feet long. The smallest species is the California Octopus. They are less than 1 inch in size.

Octopus is consumed around the world and prepared in a variety of ways. It can be eaten alive, raw, and cooked. It is also cooked with a variety of different spices. You will find tons of recipes online you can try.

Some people keep Octopus as pets because they want to own something exotic. They are well-known escape artists though, with the ability to get out of even the most secure tanks.

They are considered to be very strong for a creature of their size. They can lift things that are many time their own body weight.

Some species of Octopus have been able to successfully kill large types of fish and sharks.

Sometimes it is called the Devil Fish due to the appearance of it. In earlier times this particular appearance was considered to be evil by men on fishing boats.

Should an Octopus lose an arm it can grow another in its place.

They don’t have the ability to hear. They also don’t have any type of organs that give the impression that they were ever able to in the past either.

There are some Octopus that live in very shallow waters but the majority of them live close to the floor of the ocean.

The smaller an Octopus is the more dangerous it can be due to the amount of toxic poison in the body.

None of the species of Octopus make any types of sounds for communication.

Even though these are water creatures, it is known for them to leave water for brief periods of time when in their natural environment.

The Octopus is categorized as a mollusk.