75 Crazy Facts About Octopuses | Legacy Facts

# Octopuses are found in every depth of all oceans.

# Octopi are from a family of animals called cephalopods. Cephalopods are a category of mollusk which includes octopi, nautilus, cuttlefish, and squids.

# There are approximately 300 species of Octopuses are recognized.

# There are no known species of freshwater octopus.

# The term 'Octopus' has three plural forms, which are all valid and correct. They include octopodes, octopuses, and octopi.

# Octopi don't have tentacles instead they have arms. Many people refer to their arms incorrectly as tentacles.

The difference between tentacles and arms is that tentacles only have suckers at the tips, and tentacles are much longer than arms.

# An Octopus does not have eight arms instead they have six arms and two legs.

# Octopuses have the largest brain of any other invertebrate.

# Octopuses are highly intelligent creatures despite their walnut-sized brain, possibly more so than any other order of invertebrates.

# Octopodes are fast learners. They learn quickly from their surroundings and the challenges they face on the day to day basis. They can also learn by observing other octopuses.

# Octopuses have excellent ability to solve problems. They were found to unscrew the lid or remove the plug to get hold of their prey.

# Nearly two-thirds of the neurons of an octopus are in its arms, which means that its arms will respond to stimuli and function at a relatively high level, even if they are separated from the body.

# The octopuses have keen eyesight. They can distinguish the polarization of light just like other cephalopods. Color vision tends to vary from species to species.

# Octopi are deaf. They can't hear anything, and therefore they depend on their sight.

# An octopus' mouth is under its arms and has a sharp, hard beak.

# If an octopus gets really hungry, it will eat its own arms.

# Bored octopuses will often eat their own arms in what's called "autophagy."

# An octopus can regrow its arms. They will regenerate without any loss of function, unlike when a lizard loses its tail.

# The ink of an octopus serves two purposes: it hides the octopus, and it also harms enemies physically.

# It has been known that large octopuses catch and kill some shark species.

# If an octopus does not escape from its own cloud of inks, it could die.

# The octopus skin contains the same proteins that are sensitive to light as the octopus eyes. This means that its skin can "see" and react to the light without information from the eyes or the brain.

# Octopuses have 3 hearts, 9 brains, and their blood is blue in color.

# Octopuses can not only change color, but they can also change the texture.

# Octopuses are able to change their appearance in under 30 milliseconds. They change colors by expanding tiny pigment sacs called chromatophores in their skin.

# The skin of an octopus can change color 177 times an hour.

# Octopuses don't have any bones. This means that even large octopuses could fit through coin-sized openings.

# A 600lb Octopus can fit a quarter-sized passageway.

# Some octopuses can walk and even run on land. Chasing an octopus on land is like chasing a cat, according to one veterinarian.

# The maximum number of suction cups found on each of the octopi's arm is 240.

# The suction cups of the octopus are equipped with chemoreceptors so it can taste what it touches.

# Octopuses are part of a special class of animals that can use tools just like dolphins, crows, and chimpanzees.

# Octopuses move with simple elegance but, unlike most animals, they don't have any rhythm.

# Octopuses swim using jet propulsion. To move forward they expel water from their mantle. They are very fast swimmers and can reach a top speed of 25 mph. However, they can not maintain this pace for a long time, since it takes large amounts of energy.

# In depths of up to 5,000 feet the giant Pacific octopus swims.

# Octopuses are solitary animals. Only during the mating seasons, they get together.

# If two octopuses approach each other and display dark colors, the encounter will escalate into a physical confrontation.

# Female blanket octopuses can be 40,000 times more massive than the male and it is the animal kingdom's largest sex size discrepancy.

# Octopuses have a special arm for mating. During mating, the male octopus inserts sperm into the female using its "hectocotylus." They were observed to hold this special limb close to the body while foraging, probably to protect it.

# Instead of mating, sometimes female octopuses strangle and eat males.

# There is a species of Octopus that looks after her eggs for 53 months, apparently not eating during this period, then dies. This period of brooding is the longest for any animal known.

# Giant Pacific octopus moms have more than 50,000 babies, only a few of them survive, while their mother die.

# When a baby octopus is born it is about the size of a flea.

# Young octopuses learn almost no behavior from their parents who have very little contact with them.

# The newborn octopi float with and feed on plankton for 45 to 60 days after hatching and then they swim back to the ocean bed.

# After mating, the male octopus will die within a few months. The Female survives until her eggs hatch. She will die of starvation because she will not eat for three months (time needed for eggs to hatch).

# The lifespan of all octopuses is short. Even the longest living octopus lives for 3 and 4 years. Most smaller octopuses live for six months to a year.

# All species of octopus are venomous to human but only one is deadly.

# The octopuses are the only marine animal that is capable of opening a container.

# The Blue-ringed octopus is one of the most venomous marine animals in the world: it will kill you in one bite, there is no antivenom.

# A tiny octopus found in the 1990s is so cute that it is considered by researchers to be named Opistoteuthis adorabilis.

# The mimic octopus can transform into more than 15 different shapes like a snake, stingray, lionfish, and furry turkey.

# Octopuses can remember individual human beings and can recognize them.

# There is an octopus that carries a coconut around it so it can use it as an instant shelter.

# Stealthy Seagoers Octopuses are masters at flying under the radar, changing color and texture in seconds to match their surroundings.

# There is an Octopus species known to float on the surface of the ocean and latch onto Jellyfish while eating them slowly.

# In 2008, an Octopus was found in Japan with 96 tentacles.

# The world's largest octopus is the Pacific octopus. It weighs up to 15 kg (33 lbs) and has an arm span of up to 4.3 m (14 ft). It also has 3 hearts and 9 brains.

# Octopus wolfi is the smallest octopus species, that is around 1 inch (2.5 cm) in length and weighs less than 0.035 oz (1 g).

# The largest ever documented Octopus had a mass of 71 kg (156.5 lb).

# Because of their intelligence, surgery on an octopus, without anesthesia is illegal in many countries.

# To short-circuit it, an octopus named Otto threw rocks and sprayed water over light above his aquarium.

# At a New Zealand aquarium, an octopus escaped from its tank, crawled across the floor and into a pipe that took it to the ocean.

# The oldest fossilized octopus is 296 million years old.

# An octopus, like clams and shells, is a mollusk; however, it lost its shell through evolution.

# The Hawaiian myth of creation relates that the present cosmos is only the last of a series of universes that failed. The octopus is the lone survivor of the previous alien universe.

# During Detroit Red Wings games, fans throw octopuses on the ice in a tradition known as "The Legend of the Octopus." Someone threw a 38-pound octopus in 1995.

# Octopuses were known to rip out and use the stinging tentacles of a Portuguese Man-O-War as weapons.

# In many cultures, the octopus is eaten. They are a common food in areas of the Mediterranean and Asian sea.

# In Korea, Octopuses are eaten alive.

# Although octopuses can be difficult to keep in captivity, some people keep them as pets.

# In 2013, an American family found a six-limbed octopus on vacation. It was only the second recorded six-limbed octopus globally. They actually ate it.

# During the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Paul the Octopus was so accurate in his predictions that he received death threats from German fans and had to be offered State protection.

# In the 1960s, octopus wrestling was a popular sport. In shallow water, a diver would fight an octopus and drag it to the surface.

If you are interested then check out our "Facts About Sloths"

Please share these Facts About Octopus with your friends and on your social network sites. #Legacyfacts.

Source: 1

Image Credit: 1, 2, 3