The octopus is a fairly misunderstood creature of the sea. Few people realize that there are at least sixty different types of octopi swimming in the ocean at any given time and that most species share the same characteristics. For example all octopi have eight legs and each leg has a series of suction cups attached. The mood of the octopus is also evident based on its color, with the color changing frequently.
The suction cups on the legs or tentacles have several purposes. The cups grip to the floor of the sea and the walls of underwater caves, which allow the octopus to move easily. When the octopus attacks another animal, the suction cups hold them in place while the octopus eats it. While it acts as a hunter, it is also prey and the octopus often changes color as a way of blending into the area and hiding from predators. They may also turn different colors based on their mood, with white indicating fear and red showing anger.
Octopi are known as invertebrate because they have no bones and their bodies are generally soft. This allows the octopus the ability to squeeze into smaller places and also spread out their bodies to look bigger than they actually are. The size of each octopus varies depending on its subclass or species. There are some octopi that are smaller than an inch and others that are several times the size of a human adult male.
Resources on these creatures include:
- Ten Facts About Octopi : gives ten important facts about these creatures.
- Octopi : offers useful information such as how they use their suction cups and their characteristics.
- Octopus : focuses on how they move through the water and what they look like.
- Common Octopus : discusses facts relating to the octopus and characteristics.
- How Smart is the Octopus? : focus on the intellectual capacity of these creatures.
Octopi generally prey on smaller animals in the water. They only attack larger animals, people and ships when provoked and generally do so out of fear. They prefer lobster, oyster, shrimp, crab and clams. They hold down their prey with their suction cup tentacles and then push the food through the mouth located in the middle of their body. They also occasionally act by applying pressure to the other animal, which temporarily paralyzes it.
The octopus falls under the order Octopoda. They live in a number of different areas of the ocean, but are particularly fond of the areas around coral reefs. Scientists and researchers estimate that there are at least 300 species of octopi known to man and many others that aren’t known or no longer exist. The octopus is extremely smart in that in a split-second when faced with a larger animal, it decides whether to run or hide. They’re also capable of shooting ink at their confronter, with this ink being significantly different from printer ink.
The octopus also has a small beak right above their mouth, similar to a bird’s beak. There are also certain species of octopi that have fins on their body and a shell inside their body that acts as a skeleton. The lifespan of each type is different as well. There are some species capable of living longer than a human, while others die in just a few months. It shows just how diverse the species of octopi in the ocean are.
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