We aren’t entirely sure what it is about sea life that gets us, especially the bizarre, mysterious, and somewhat creepy creature known as the octopus. Sure, the octopus was portrayed adorably in Finding Nemo, but real-life octopuses aren’t so precious. Now, most of us know that octopuses have eight arms (not tentacles!), but there are so many more strange facts about this animal that we never knew until recently. What are we waiting for? Let’s dive in! (See what we did there?)
Octopuses Have THREE Hearts
(image via: how stuff works)
See this is what we mean about octopuses being bizarre and mysterious! Not only do they have eight legs, but they also have three hearts, two that pump blood to the gills, and one that keeps it pumping to the organs. The third heart stops anytime an octopus starts swimming, hence the crawling probably.
All Eight Arms Have a Mind of Their Own
Most of an octopus’ neurons live inside of its arms and not inside of its head; with that being said, their arms can taste, touch, smell, and even problem solve. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any more strange, we’ve got one more octopus arm fact for you; their arms can still react after being severed. (Completely severed!)
After Mating, Males Drop Dead
(image via: the new york times)
There’s not much to say about this one, after the male has done his part, he dies.
Females Drop Dead Pretty Quick Too
There just isn’t a winning situation here; female octopuses begin guarding their eggs just as soon as they lay them, no matter how long it takes; then, not long after they’ve hatched, the female octopus will die.
Go Go Gadget Detached Arm?
Here’s a wild one for you; when it comes to being on the defense, octopuses have a couple of tricks up their sleeve; one being inking. This means that the octopus sprays their ink into the water and potential predators will begin to lose their vision as well as their sense of smell. The other defense mechanism? Oh, you now, detaching an arm. Then letting it grow back. Like a lizard does with its tail, only underwater. And not a lizard.
Octopuses are AMAZING at Camaflauging
(image via: nbc news)
Bad news for ocean predators, because these creatures are probably some of the most difficult to prey on due to their amazing ability to blend in. The skin of an octopus will actually change both color and pattern to match their surroundings, so well in fact that you could be looking right at an octopus and never even know it.