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10 Things You Never Knew About An Octopus
1.The Octopus can use the suckers on its tentacles not only to get a good grip on smooth surfaces to propel them along for example rocks at the bottom of the ocean which is clearly very handy, but another function of their suckers is for tasting so they can identify whether or not an item is food even when there is no light in the depths of the sea. 2.The Octopus has 3 hearts, one to pump blood through the body and the remaining two provide circulation for the gills. 3.These creatures are extraordinarily clever. They have incredible problem solving abilities and find their way in mazes, they have the ability to play and have both long and short term memory. Surprisingly octopodes have been found to be able to use tools and they have been observed breaking coconut shells and creating shelters with the pieces. 4.Their defences are highly impressive and highly evolved. By squirting dense clouds of ink they are able to get out of sticky situations, camouflage themselves and amazingly they can even sever off their own tentacles if necessary and reform them later to evade capture. Octopodes have the capability of combining their capacity to camouflage themselves and the incredibly flexibilty of their bodies to accurately mimic the shape and colour of other more terrifying creatures to intimidate predators. 5.Their eyesight is incredible and they have sensors in their eyes that connect to the main mass of neurons which help them to identify their horizontal orientation. They have a system for rotating their eyes depending on their orientation within the water to ensure that the slit of their eyes is permanently on the horizontal plane. 6.They can move by crawling, by swimming, walking (supported in water) or propelling themselves in a way similar to jet propulsion! Some are even able to walk on two legs while using their other arms and legs to mimic plants in order to provide effective camouflage. 7.They also have a powerful means of attack. All Octopodes are venomous, some even have the ability to kill humans. For their size they are very strong. 8.Their arm span is up to 14ft and they can weigh in excess of 70kg. 9.They do not have any kind of skeleton and have no hard body parts with the exception of their beak. As a result of this it is possible for them to get through holes as small as 1 inch in diameter! 10.Their unique nervous system is highly complex with two thirds of their neurons found in their tentacles, only one third of their neurons are located within the brain. This unusual configuration allows reflexes to take place without any input from the brain. I appreciate you taking the time to read this - if you liked it all I ask is that you let me know. Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com Why I wrote this article: Having recently produced an item about biomimicry I started wondering about the reasons that the Octopus has Suction Cups and as a result I produced a short article on the subject here. During the course of writing it I learned a range of other information (as above) so I just thought I would share it with you! |
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