Although we, as humanity, have focused our eyes on the sky and focused on solving the mysteries of space, there are actually seas and oceans filled with miraculous life forms at our feet. We do not know exactly how many species live in the oceans and seas, one of the places where the diversity of life on Earth is most intense.
Approximately 250 thousand multicellular sea creatures have been listed so far. However, despite this high number, it is thought that almost 91% of the creatures living in the seas are still unknown. The extraordinary features of some of the sea creatures we know are ‘who knows how many more creatures we do not know but have incredible features?’ begs the question. Octopuses are one of these creatures. So, with what features did octopuses manage to be so ‘special’? Let’s take a look together.
From 3 cm to 9 meters: There are more than 300 types of octopus
When it comes to octopus, everyone can see a completely different image. While some of us imagine a giant octopus, some of us can think of tiny finger-sized octopuses. This is because there are more than 300 known octopuses. Moreover, the size of octopuses can vary between 3 centimeters and 9 meters. An incredible range…
Octopuses build doors, decorate their homes and live alone
We know that octopuses generally live alone and mostly feed on crabs, shrimps and mollusks. In addition, these strange creatures carry stones to the entrances of their ‘houses’ and use them as doors, then close their doors and protect themselves. In addition to making doors for these private and secret houses, they also ‘decorate’ their living spaces with seashells.
They have three hearts and their blood is blue
Octopuses have three hearts in total. One of these hearts is responsible for pumping blood throughout the body, while the other two pump blood to the gills of octopuses. Also, the blood of octopuses with three hearts is not red; in blue colour. The reason for this is that instead of the iron pigment called hemoglobin in their blood, they have a copper pigment called hemocyanin.
They can ‘disappear’ in 0.3 seconds and they have very venomous species
One of the fascinating features of octopuses is their incredible camouflage abilities. Octopuses, which can camouflage themselves at a great speed in 0.3 seconds, imitate the color and texture of the place they are on so well that they almost ‘destroy’ them.
However, this is not the only defense mechanism they have developed. At the same time, some octopus species can be deadly venomous. Blue-ringed octopuses, one of the most venomous octopuses known, secrete a poison that is powerful enough to kill 26 adults at the same time, and this poison is 10,000 times more poisonous than cyanide.
They can use tools and distinguish people from each other
One of the biggest proofs of octopuses’ impressive intelligence is that they can use tools. In fact, the skill of using tools was known to be unique to humans, some primate species, and birds. But octopuses completely change this knowledge.
For example, when there is no place to hide, octopuses can find places to hide by combining the shells they find around, they can dismantle the filtering systems of a structure such as an aquarium tank, which can be quite complex for an invertebrate creature, or they can ‘escape’ by opening the caps of the bottles they are imprisoned in.
They lay about 50 thousand eggs at a time and mother octopuses ‘eat their arms’ to protect their young
Octopuses don’t have a long lifespan; It is thought to be between 1 and 5 years on average. There are even octopuses with a life span of 6 months. However, in these short lives, female octopuses give birth to tens of thousands of offspring.
We know that an octopus can lay an average of 50 thousand eggs at once. These eggs take about 40 days to hatch. In this process, mother octopuses need to both protect their eggs against danger and ‘vent’ them by creating a current on the eggs. It is known that mother octopuses, who are hungry due to this hard work, can eat their own arms. However, this behavior is also seen in imprisoned octopuses; Therefore, it is thought to be a stress-based behavior.
Octopuses’ ‘arms’ are remarkable not just for their number
We know that octopuses have eight arms. But it’s not the number that draws attention to these creatures’ arms. Each octopus arm can make decisions independently of the brain, and can continue to react even hours after it leaves the brain. In other words, the arms of octopuses can act as if they have their own brains.
Also, thanks to the chemo-sensory cells in their arms, octopuses collect information not only by touching but also by tasting. Also, octopuses can regenerate their severed arms.
It has been claimed that they may indeed be ‘not of this world’
A recent article on octopuses and their fascinating features has sparked great controversy. A group of scientists claimed that octopuses are not from this world. Their theory is that an ‘alien virus’ was transported to Earth by a meteorite millions of years ago and ‘infected’ a primitive squid population, enabling them to turn into octopuses.
The reason for this strange claim is the claim that some points in the evolution and gene sequences of octopuses are full of unknowns. However, after this article was published, almost all of the scientific world rejected these claims. Because the gene sequences of octopuses were already deciphered and shared in 2015, and many studies have been conducted to show that the ‘mysterious’ leaps in their evolution are not so mysterious.
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