Octopuses are perhaps the most amazing of the mollusks that live in the depths of the sea. Their strange appearance surprises, delights, and sometimes frightens, the imagination pictures giant octopuses capable of easily sinking even large ships. This kind of demonization of the octopus was greatly facilitated by the work of many famous writers, for example, Victor Hugo described in his novel “Toilers of the Sea” octopus as “the absolute embodiment of evil.” In reality, octopuses, of which there are more than 200 species in nature, are completely harmless creatures, and it is rather they who need to be afraid of us humans, and not vice versa.
The closest relatives of octopuses are squid and cuttlefish; they themselves belong to the genus of cephalopods, the family of octopuses proper.
Octopus: description, structure, characteristics. What does an octopus look like?
The appearance of the octopus is confusing; it is immediately unclear where its head is, where its mouth is, where its eyes and limbs are. But then everything becomes clear - the sac-like body of the octopus is called the mantle, which is fused with a large head, and there are eyes on its upper surface. The eyes of an octopus have a convex shape.
The octopus's mouth is tiny and surrounded by chitinous jaws called the beak. The latter is necessary for the octopus to grind food, since they cannot swallow prey whole. He also has a special grater in his throat, which grinds pieces of food into pulp. Around the mouth there are tentacles, which are the true calling card of the octopus. The octopus's tentacles are long, muscular, and their lower surface is studded with suckers of varying sizes, which are responsible for taste (yes, the octopus's suckers contain its taste buds). How many tentacles does an octopus have? There are always eight of them, in fact, the name of this animal comes from this number, since the word “octopus” means “eight legs” (well, that is, tentacles).
Also, twenty species of octopuses have special fins that serve as a kind of rudders when they move.
Interesting fact: octopuses are the most intelligent among mollusks; the octopus' brain is surrounded by special cartilage, strikingly similar to the skull of vertebrates.
All the senses of octopuses are well developed, especially vision; the eyes of octopuses are very similar in structure to human eyes. Each of the eyes can see separately, but if the octopus needs to look at some object more closely, the eyes easily come together and focus on a given object, in other words, octopuses have the rudiments of binocular vision. Octopuses are also capable of detecting infrasound.
The structure of the internal organs of an octopus is unusually complex. For example, their circulatory system is closed, and the arterial vessels are almost connected to the venous ones. The octopus also has three hearts! One of them is the main one, and two small gills, whose task is to push blood to the main heart, otherwise it directs the flow of blood throughout the body. Speaking of octopus blood, it's blue! Yes, all octopuses are real aristocrats! But seriously, the color of octopus blood is due to the presence of a special pigment in it - geocyamine, which in them plays the same role as hemoglobin in us.
Another interesting organ that the octopus has is the siphon. The siphon leads into the mantle cavity, where the octopus draws water and then, abruptly releasing it, creates a real jet that pushes its body forward. True, the octopus’s jet system is not as advanced as that of its relative the squid (which became the prototype for the creation of a rocket), but it is also excellent.
The sizes of octopuses vary between species, the largest of which is 3 meters long and weighs about 50 kg. Most species of medium-sized octopuses range from 0.2 to 1 meter in length.
As for the color of octopuses, they usually have red, brown, or yellow colors, but they can also easily change their color like this. Their mechanism for changing color is the same as that of reptiles - special chromatophore cells located on the skin can stretch and contract in a matter of seconds, simultaneously changing color, and making the octopus invisible to potential predators, or expressing its emotions (for example, angry the octopus turns red, even black).
Where does the octopus live?
The habitat of octopuses is almost all seas and oceans, with the exception of northern waters, although they sometimes penetrate there. But most often, octopuses live in warm seas, both in shallow water and at very great depths - some deep-sea octopuses can penetrate to depths of up to 5000 m. Many octopuses like to settle in coral reefs.
What do octopuses eat?
Octopuses, however, like other cephalopods, are predatory creatures; their diet consists of a variety of small fish, as well as crabs and lobsters. They first capture their prey with their tentacles and kill them with poison, then they begin to absorb them, since they cannot swallow whole pieces, they first grind the food with their beak.
Octopus lifestyle
Octopuses usually lead a sedentary, sedentary lifestyle; most of the time they hide among reefs and sea rocks, emerging from their hiding places only to hunt. Octopuses usually live alone and are very attached to their area.
How long do octopuses live?
The lifespan of an octopus is on average 2-4 years.
Octopus enemies
One of the most dangerous enemies of the octopus in recent times is humans, which is greatly facilitated by cooking, because many delicious and delicious dishes can be prepared from octopus. But besides this, the octopus also has other natural enemies, various sea predators: sharks, sea lions, fur seals, and killer whales are also not averse to feasting on the octopus.
Is octopus dangerous for humans?
Only on the pages of books or in various science fiction films, octopuses are incredibly dangerous creatures, capable of not only easily killing people, but also destroying entire ships. In reality, they are quite harmless, even cowardly; at the slightest sign of danger, the octopus prefers to retreat by flight, no matter what happens. Although they usually swim slowly, when in danger they turn on their jet engine, allowing the octopus to accelerate to a speed of 15 km per hour. They also actively use their ability of mimicry, merging with the surrounding space.
Only the largest species of octopus can pose some danger to scuba divers, and then only during the breeding season. In this case, of course, the octopus itself will never be the first to attack a person, but in defense, it can sting him with its poison, which, although not fatal, will, of course, cause some unpleasant feelings (swelling, dizziness). The exception is the blue-ringed octopus, which lives off the coast of Australia, whose nerve venom is still fatal to humans, but since this octopus leads a secretive lifestyle, accidents with it are very rare.
Types of octopuses, photos and names
Of course, we will not describe all 200 species of octopuses; we will focus only on the most interesting of them.
As you probably guessed from the name, this is the largest octopus in the world. It can reach up to 3 meters in length and up to 50 kg in weight, but these are the largest individuals of this species; on average, a giant octopus is 30 kg and 2-2.5 meters in length. Inhabits the Pacific Ocean from Kamchatka and Japan to the west coast of the USA.
The most widespread and well-studied species of octopus, living in the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, from England to the coast of Senegal. It is relatively small, its body length is 25 cm, and together with the tentacles it is 90 cm. The body weight is on average 10 cm. It is very popular in the cuisine of the Mediterranean peoples.
And this beautiful species of octopus, which lives off the coast of Australia, is also the most dangerous among them, since it is its poison that can cause cardiac arrest in humans. Another characteristic feature of this octopus is the presence of characteristic blue and black rings on its yellow skin. A person can only be attacked while defending himself, so to avoid trouble, you just need to stay away from him. It is also the smallest octopus, its body length is 4-5 cm, its tentacles are 10 cm, and its weight is 100 grams.
Octopus breeding
Now let's look at how octopuses reproduce; this process is very interesting and unusual. Firstly, they reproduce only once in their lives and this action has dramatic consequences for them. Before the mating season, one of the tentacles of a male octopus turns into a kind of sexual organ - a hectocotylus. With its help, the male transfers his sperm into the mantle cavity of the female octopus. After this act, the males, alas, die. Females with male reproductive cells continue to lead a normal life for several months, and only then lay eggs. There are a huge number of them in the clutch, up to 200 thousand pieces.
Then it lasts for several months until the young octopuses hatch, during which time the female becomes an exemplary mother, literally blowing away specks of dust from her future offspring. In the end, the female, exhausted from hunger, also dies. Young octopuses hatch from eggs completely ready for independent life.
- More recently, many people have heard of the famous octopus Paul, the octopus oracle, the octopus predictor, who with amazing accuracy predicted the results of football matches at the European Championships in Germany in 2008. In the aquarium where this octopus lived, two feeders with flags of opposing teams were placed, and then the team from whose feeder Paul the octopus began his meal won the football match.
- Octopuses have played a significant role in people’s erotic fantasies for quite some time; back in 1814, a certain Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai published an erotic engraving, “The Dream of a Fisherman’s Wife,” which depicts a naked woman in the company of two octopuses.
- It is quite possible that, as a result of evolution, over millions of years, octopuses will develop into intelligent creatures similar to humans.
Life of an Octopus, video
And finally, an interesting documentary about octopuses from National Geographic.
They have existed since ancient times. But even today there are eyewitnesses who are ready to confirm the most incredible hypotheses. Judging by the descriptions of sailors and scientists, giant octopuses still exist. They hide in the deep waters of the oceans and coastal caves, only occasionally catching the eye of a person, scaring fishermen and divers.
Information that giant octopuses actually live in the sea comes from different parts of the planet. Thus, the largest octopus caught from the depths of the sea reached 22 meters in length, and the diameter of its suckers reached 15 cm. What are these monsters and why have they still not been studied?
What do we know about octopuses?
It is their limbs that grow directly from the head, can take any position, and with them the mollusk captures the victim. The mantle covers the gills and internal organs.
The head is small with round expressive eyes. To move, the octopus grabs water with its mantle and sharply pushes it out through a funnel located under its head. Thanks to this push, it moves backwards. Along with the water, ink comes out of the funnel - waste products of the octopus. The mouth of this sea creature is very interesting. It is a beak, the tongue is covered with a horny grater with many small but very sharp teeth. One of the teeth (the central one) is noticeably larger than the others; the octopus uses it to drill holes in the shells and shells of animals.
Giant octopus: who is he?
This is a representative of the Octopus dofleini family, living on rocky shores. The largest specimen, which was described and entered into the Guinness Book of Records, had a limb length of 3.5 m (excluding the mantle). Later evidence from sailors proves that there were larger animals with tentacles up to 5 meters long. These giant octopuses terrified eyewitnesses, although they did not pose any danger to humans. The diet of these marine inhabitants does not include, but they can scare humans. When irritated, the mollusk changes color to dark burgundy, takes a frightening pose, raising its tentacles, and throws out dark ink.
The giant octopus, the photo of which is presented above, has already released ink from a special ink channel and is ready to rush into battle. If an octopus throws its limbs behind its head and puts its suction cups forward, it means that it is preparing to fight back the enemy - this is a typical pose for repelling an attack.
Are giant octopuses dangerous?
Aggression of this animal can be caused if you roughly grab it or try to pull it out of its hole. Cases of attacks on humans are not uncommon, but no deaths have been recorded from suffocation with tentacles. Octopuses are inherently shy, so they usually try to hide when meeting a person. Although during the mating season, some individuals are very aggressive and are not afraid of humans. The mollusk Octopus dofleini can bite painfully, but this bite is not poisonous, unlike the bite of some tropical relatives. These large octopuses are kept in aquariums. However, their lifespan is short: the female dies after the birth of her offspring, and the male even earlier, immediately after mating.
The giant octopus belongs to the order Octopus. The habitat of this species extends to the coastal northern regions of the Pacific Ocean. These cephalopods can be found along the west coast of America. These are Alaska, British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, California. At the eastern tip of Eurasia, representatives of the species live near Japan, Korea, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, the Aleutian and Commander Islands. They live on sea soil at a depth of up to 2 km, hiding in underground caves and crevices. Preference is given to cold, oxygenated water.
Adults, as a rule, weigh about 15 kg with elongated tentacles up to 4.3 m. Larger specimens weighing up to 50 kg and up to 6 m long are found. The largest octopus caught weighed 136 kg with a length of 9.8 m. Each of its the suction cups could hold the entire 16 kg. These representatives of the species have 8 tentacles, each of which has 2 rows of suckers. The mouth opening is located where the tentacles meet. The mouth has 2 jaws, reminiscent of a parrot's beak. There is a special grater in the throat that grinds food.
There are 3 hearts. The main thing is to move blue blood throughout the body. And two auxiliary or gill muscles push blood through the gills. Since these individuals do not have bones, they can easily change their shape. They disguise themselves as other fish, pass through narrow openings and hide in caves, the volume of which is only a quarter of the volume of their body. They crawl slowly along the bottom, but are capable of reaching speeds of up to 35 km/h for a short time. They change their color, adapting to the environment. The normal body color is brown, but it can be light gray when frightened and red when angry.
Reproduction and lifespan
During the breeding season, giant octopuses move to shallow depths and form large colonies. This happens in the summer. At the end of spawning, adult individuals quickly disperse throughout their entire habitat and do not form any aggregations. The female mates only once in her life and lays from 20 thousand to 100 thousand eggs. The eggs are collected in clusters, each containing 200 to 300 eggs.
The female remains near the eggs throughout the incubation period. All this time, she removes dirt from them and ventilates them, letting water through. It often happens that females die from exhaustion, since they do not eat anything at this time. The eggs hatch into larvae 9-10 mm long. 3 months after their appearance, they begin to grow rapidly and go deeper. In the wild, the giant octopus lives on average 4.5 years. The maximum life expectancy is 5 years.
Behavior and nutrition
These cephalopods lead a solitary lifestyle. They constantly sit in their dens, and leave them only to get food. When fleeing from predators, they release an ink-colored stream produced by special glands. They move along the bottom by crawling with the help of tentacles. They swim with their tentacles backwards, while drawing water into the cavity where the gills are located, and then forcefully pushing it out. The hunt is carried out from ambush.
The diet consists of shellfish, fish, crabs, and squid. They drag the prey to their lair, and leave the remains near their dens. Octopuses are considered intelligent invertebrates. Their brains contain 300 million neurons, allowing adults to solve simple puzzles. In captivity, they can open bottles, tank valves, and disassemble equipment. Some researchers claim that they have personality characteristics and characters.
This species is on the list of gradually disappearing inhabitants of the World Ocean. At the same time, commercial catching of giant octopuses does not greatly affect population sizes. At least that's what it seems. The numbers are affected by toxins and ocean acidification.
Reports of sea monsters can be found in almost every corner of the globe, including stories of huge sea serpents. But very interesting reports are coming from the resort paradise on Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea. Something huge and ferocious lives in the local waters.
Dean's Blue Hole(not to be confused with the Great Blue Hole) is the deepest currently known blue hole on the planet (the term blue hole is a general name for sinkholes filled with water and located below sea level).
Dean's Hole is located in a bay west of Clarence Town (Bahamas) on Long Island. Its depth is 202 m. Dina's Hole is a very popular place for tourists to swim and divers to dive, although the latter is considered a very dangerous activity.
At depth, divers can expect treacherous currents, disorientation, narrow passages, and a mysterious monster nicknamed the Blue Hole Beast.
Local residents have long told stories about a monster called Luska(Lusca). Luska is described as having many sharp teeth and long, powerful tentacles like an octopus. The dimensions of Luska are enormous and reach up to 60 meters.
It is said that it can change color like an octopus and looks like a hybrid of squid, eel and dragon. In general, descriptions of Luska may vary, but a couple of details will remain unchanged - tentacles, and also gluttony and aggressiveness.
Local residents say that Luska lives in several local blue holes, including Dean's Blue Hole, and comes out to hunt at night and can even crawl out of the water and attack people in the city. During the day, she sleeps in underwater caves.
Fishermen tell stories about what they saw as something dragging boats with people under water near the blue holes. Luska is often blamed for the deaths of many divers who died during the dive or went missing altogether underwater. And several times the bodies of divers were allegedly found with traces of suction cups on their bodies, as if from the tentacles of a huge octopus.
Although it may seem like just creepy tales for the entertainment of tourists, there are some cases that convince us that not everything here is made up by fishermen. In 2005, one of the divers said that while diving into a blue hole, he was attacked by a huge octopus, which was at least 15 meters long. The diver managed to escape, but the mollusk wrapped its tentacles around his camera and dragged it into its cave.
Another diver claimed to have seen a nurse shark being grabbed in the water by a tentacle "the width of a telephone pole" and dragged into an underwater cave.
There is also a story from the crew of a fishing boat who saw something very strong trying to pull the buoys and drag them under water. One of the buoys was attached directly to the boat and something grabbed it and dragged it along with the boat for some time.
The sonar on this boat at the same time showed a certain large “pyramidal” object under water, and after that the buoys and traps attached to them were raised crumpled and twisted, as if they had been in a huge meat grinder.
The television show “Destination Truth,” which talks about various anomalous phenomena, filmed a story about this creature, and during filming, their sonar showed the presence of a large animal crawling along the cave wall underwater.
Another popular TV show, River Monsters, also did a segment about Lusk in these parts, and although host Jeremy Wade didn't catch anything unusual, he suggested that the monster could very well be a very large octopus.
“The giant octopus can easily catch and even eat a person. My research on these creatures has shown that this is an amazing and agile predator and with its behavior this is possible,” says Jeremy Wade.
Could Luska be an as yet undiscovered species of very large octopus? Quite possibly. In 2011, a strange carcass washed up on the shores of the Bahamas, which seemed to have only a head and a mouth. If we accept that these were the remains of an octopus without tentacles, then in its entirety it would have a diameter of at least 6-9 meters.
The largest known species of octopus is the giant octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini). Large individuals are up to 150 cm in size and weigh about 30 kg. Specimens weighing up to 50 kg and lengths up to 3 m have been recorded. There are also unconfirmed reports of sightings of these octopuses measuring 4.3 meters in length.
Maybe some of them reach especially large sizes? The problem is that giant octopuses live in the Pacific Ocean, not near the Bahamas (Atlantic Ocean). However, this shows that huge octopuses may well be a reality and not a myth.
The mysterious world of the ocean hides many secrets, one of which is its giant inhabitants. Several centuries ago, the stories of experienced sailors about the incredible size of krakens aroused special awe. But if the kraken is still a mythical monster, then the article will talk about very real cephalopods, whose size and weight make the human race shudder even today!
Meet the largest octopus according to the Guinness Book of Records, it was a cephalopod named after the German zoologist Doflein, its length was 9.6 m, and its body weight was 272 kg. It's hard to believe, but such a monster grows from a larva measuring only 3-4 mm. Doflein's octopuses are also called sea devils for their horn-shaped growths located above their eyes. According to, for the same growths they are called eared.
Gigantomania
As befits all monsters, octopuses hide at great depths, among stones and algae. Nevertheless, scientists managed to introduce the world to another giant. A relative of the 9-meter octopus, which took 1st place in the ranking of the largest octopuses, was recorded in the 40s. XX century. Its weight is 180 kg, and its body length is 8 m. In scientific circles, these octopuses are recognized as both the largest and the most studied, since they are not deep-sea, like many of their relatives.
Doflein's octopuses are lovers of cool waters. The optimal temperature for them is +12 C. These mollusks prefer night hunting for fish, crustaceans and similar cephalopods. The doflein's skin is slightly wrinkled. Octopuses make it this way specifically to blend into the topography of a coral reef or rock.
In the Pacific
A Pacific octopus was found dead off the coast of New Zealand, which did not stop it from entering the ranking of the very best. Its body length is 4 m, and its weight is 75 kg. His predecessor was much more fortunate; he managed not only to survive, but also to get into the Guinness Book of Records. It also turned out to be a Pacific cephalopod weighing 58 kg and tentacles 3.5 m long.
Pacific octopuses are quite nimble. Thus, a 12-kilogram octopus managed to escape from one aquarium. Having no skeleton, octopuses can easily seep into small holes. Another feature of cephalopods is that they can easily survive without water for several hours.
Unfortunately, nature has arranged it this way that representatives of any species that reach enormous sizes live short lives. The life of an octopus is already short: about 4 years. For giants, this age is reduced to 2 years. Scientists suggest that in the future large individuals will begin to disappear from the planet, because, from the point of view of evolution, size is not the main thing!
Angel of Death
The Apollyon octopus was named after the angel of the abyss and death. The mollusk received its far from harmless name for its ability to kill a victim with a stream of poison and suck out its flesh. He hunts mainly for crabs. If an Apollyon bites a person, the symptoms will be the same as those of a snake bite, but they are not fatal. The swelling from the bite goes away in 2-3 weeks.
It is known for certain that octopuses do not attack people; rather, they avoid meeting them. In most cases, all bites are self-defense.
According to the author of the book “Primates of the Sea” I. Akimushkin, at the end of the 19th century. A representative of the glorious genus of Apollyons was found measuring 5 m and with a tentacle span of 8.5 m. Moreover, the “angels of death” weigh very little, and the size of their bodies reaches no more than 30 cm. Apollyon lives off the coast of Alaska, California and Canada.
Yanagi-dako
One of the giant octopuses is considered to be the true Japanese “Yanagi-dako”, or willow octopus, which lives off the coast of the island. Hokkaido. Its length reaches 3 m. The Japanese consider it a delicacy, especially since intensive fishing has reduced its population, and octopuses have come to the court, or rather to the Japanese table, at just the right time.
Octopuses are amazing animals. Cephalopods certainly cannot be called heartless. They have as many as 3 hearts. They have blue blood in their veins and are very smart. Remember the most famous octopus-predictor Paul (he belonged to the common octopuses), who very accurately predicted the outcome of football matches. A monument in the shape of a soccer ball was even unveiled in Paul's honor. The Germans were so reverent about their oracle that they preserved its ashes and placed them inside the monument.
You can also see octopuses in captivity; for example, a giant Pacific octopus lives in the Exotarium of the Moscow Zoo.
In fact, there are more than 300 species of octopuses, with bizarre shapes and colors. In our rating, we identified the largest octopuses.
- Doflein's octopus - 9.6 m, weight 272 kg.
- Doflein's octopus - 8 m, weight 180 kg.
- Apollyon - 5 m (the exact weight is not indicated. The octopus is inferior in weight to all species mentioned in the rating).
- Pacific octopus – 4 m, weight 75 kg
- Pacific octopus - 3.5 m, weight 58 kg.
- Willow octopus – 3 m (weight not specified).
Perhaps the world will yet know more than one fact from the life of sea giants, which, giving a head start to man, will unexpectedly emerge from the depths of the sea.
