 developed pigment-bearing cells. This type of camouflage is a frequent defense strategy employed by octopuses to avoid predators.
- The plural version of the word octopus is octopuses, not octopi, contrary to common perception. However, the term octopus is commonly used to refer to a group of octopuses.
Octopus Scientific Name
The mollusk order includes octopuses. They are classified as cephalopods and belong to the Octopoda order. In 1818, English scientist William Elford Leach created the name Octopoda.
Octopus vulgaris is the scientific name for the common octopus. This Latin phrase is derived from two Ancient Greek words: okto (meaning “eight”) and pous (meaning “foot”). As a result, the name “octopus” means “eight feet,” referring to the creatures’ eight “feet,” which are more usually referred to as arms.
Octopus Species: The Types of Octopus
The order Octopoda comprises around 300 species and is divided into 13 families. Octopuses come in a wide range of sizes and shapes, with some dwelling in the deep water, others reaching 30 feet, and yet others barely reaching an inch!
The following are some of the most intriguing octopus species.
Giant Pacific Octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini)
The gigantic Pacific octopus is the largest octopus on the planet! The world’s largest specimen reportedly weighed 600 pounds and had a 30-foot arm reach! The species may be found all around the Pacific’s “ring of fire,” from the Gulf of California to Alaska, and all the way down to Japan and China’s coast.
Flapjack Octopus (Opisthoteuthis californiana)
Flapjack octopuses are umbrella octopuses, which means their tentacles are connected by a web of skin. The flapjack octopus derives its name from the way its webbing links outward to the ends of its tentacles, giving it a ‘flapjack’ look at the bottom of its body. Flapjack octopuses may leave up to a mile below the surface of the ocean, and nothing is known about their habits. Flapjack octopuses gained popularity because the character Pearl in Finding Nemo was based on the species.
Atlantic Pygmy Octopus (Octopus joubini)
The limbs of the Atlantic pygmy octopus are slightly under 4 inches long, making it one of the smallest octopus species. They’re particularly common in the Gulf of Mexico, and they’re recognized for their ability to change colors quickly to blend in with their environment.
The blue-ringed octopus is a genus rather than a species. The species is distinguished by its brilliant blue rings that run the length of its body. Furthermore, blue-ringed octopus species are very poisonous, and the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin is found in their bite. This toxin, which causes transient paralysis, has no known antidote. The paralysis caused by a blue-ringed octopus bite lasts around 15 hours and may need intubation for survival. Blue-ringed octopuses, on the other hand, are not violent, and just three documented fatalities have been related to the species, according to 2008 research.
Octopus Appearance and Behavior
Any eight-armed cephalopod mollusk of the order Octopoda is referred to as an octopus. True octopuses are members of the genus Octopus, a large family of shallow-water cephalopods that includes squids and cuttlefish.
The body of a normal octopus is saccular, which indicates that the head is only slightly separated from the rest of the body. They have eight contractile arms with two rows of fleshy suckers on each. A web of tissue known as a skirt connects their limbs at their bases; their mouth is located in the center of the skirt and features a pair of sharp beaks and a file-like structure known as a radula.
Octopuses breathe by pulling water into their mantles through a hole in their shell. The water subsequently travels through the gills and is ejected via the siphon. The thin skin of octopuses absorbs some oxygen from the water.
These animals can move in a number of different ways. They crawl using their front two arms while foraging with the other six. Their arms trail behind them as they swim by pushing water through their siphons. They may also swiftly travel backward by ej