Octopus is different. The octopus is an amazing shellfish. Lifestyle and behavioral patterns

Diving in warm and temperate seas, divers may be lucky enough to see an extremely interesting animal - an octopus. Of course, everyone has heard and knows about this inhabitant. sea ​​waters, but the details of the lifestyle of octopuses, species diversity and the structure of the body is not known to many.
The purpose of this article is to shed a ray of light on some of the shady, for most of the world's population, aspects of octopus life.

Let's start with the fact that octopuses belong to the subclass of intrashells (they are also called double-branched) cephalopods (Coleoidea).
The main sign of representatives of this subclass of mollusks is the presence of an internal shell, which is difficult to call a shell - just a remnant (rudiment) of the shell that covered the body of the distant ancestors of these mollusks. These ancient mollusks died out long ago, leaving behind only one tiny detachment of modern cephalopods - nautiluses, which still have an outer shell.

The name "cephalopods" was assigned to these molluscs, including octopuses, because they have limbs on their heads - tentacles, sometimes called arms or legs. With the help of these "arms" or "legs" (as you prefer), cephalopods catch and hold food, can move (even along the bottom), build and equip their dwellings, and perform many other useful actions. The main purpose of the tentacles, of course, is to capture food and deliver it to the mouth.
The octopus, as the name suggests, has eight tentacle legs.

From the shell that once covered the body of a distant ancestor of octopuses, only cartilaginous formations in the form of sticks or curved plates supporting the fins remained. Some species of octopuses do not even have such a remnant of the shell - it has completely disappeared as unnecessary.

Octopuses appeared, apparently, in the early Mesozoic. In any case, the primitive representatives of this order have been known since jurassic. In the squad of octopuses ( Octopoda) there are about 200 species that form two suborders : finless or real octopuses (incirrata) and finned octopuses (Cirrata).
This article describes the structural features of finless (real) octopuses, since representatives of the second suborder live in the dark depths of the ocean, inaccessible to the eyes of divers and divers, so it will not be possible to meet them during the dive.
But do not worry too much about this - the main structural features of the representatives of both suborders are similar.
The main external differences are the presence (as you probably guessed by the name) of fins, as well as webbed jumpers between the tentacles, which in fin octopuses are almost to the tips of the tentacles, the absence of an ink sac in fin octopuses (why is there ink in the dark?) and some others features.

Now - external signs real (finless) octopuses .
The body of octopuses is soft, oval in shape, dressed in a skin-muscle bag (or, if you like, a mantle), which contains internal organs. The mantle is smooth, with pimples or with folds at different types octopuses, more often it resembles a wrinkled bag.
The head of an octopus is fused to the mantle. Eyes are located on the head, often very large, especially in deep sea species. The tentacle arms are also placed here, crowning the mouth of the octopus.

The inner surface of the tentacles is covered with several rows of suckers, which are smaller at the base and on the tips of the tentacles, and large in the middle part. With the help of suction cups, the octopus can capture and hold prey, as well as attach itself to underwater objects. One suction cup of a large octopus is able to hold a load weighing about 100 grams. If we take into account that the number of suckers on one "arm" can reach up to 220 pieces, then we can calculate the weight that each limb of an octopus can hold.
In addition, taste and tactile receptors are located on the suckers (up to 50-60 pieces on each), so we can say that octopuses distinguish the taste of food with the help of tentacles. Another detail - in sexually mature males, one "hand" is transformed into a copulatory organ - hectocotylus, with which he transfers the reproductive products to the female's seminal receptacle.

The tentacles of octopuses are subject to the most frequent attacks of enemies, as they constantly move around the owner's shelter and feel objects that are nearby. Therefore, nature has provided octopuses with the property of autotomy - the ability to tear off pieces of their flesh (in this case, tentacles) in case of need and danger. The tentacle captured "captured" sharply and strongly contracts, as a result of which it breaks. The torn off piece of the "arm" of the octopus wriggles and swims autonomously, distracting the enemy from its former owner.

The mouth of octopuses is small, the pharynx is muscular, equipped with a pair of strong chitinous jaws, resembling the beak of a parrot and often called the "beak".
AT oral cavity there is a special tongue outgrowth - odontophore, on which a radula is placed - a chitinous ribbon, seated with small teeth. With the help of the radula, food that has entered the mouth of the octopus and moistened with saliva from special glands is ground and transported to the esophagus, which in the form of a thin tube stretches from the pharynx to the stomach.
On the way to the stomach, the esophagus passes through the brain and liver of the octopus. Since the esophagus is very thin, octopuses cannot swallow prey whole and are forced to crush it into small pieces with their "beak" before sending it to the mouth.
Once in the stomach, food is digested with the help of digestive juices produced by the liver and pancreas. The activity of the enzymes of these glands is very high and in 3-4 hours the food is completely digested. Then the beneficial substances are absorbed into the body of the octopus with the help of a process of the stomach - cecum and with the help of the liver.
Undigested food remains are expelled through the intestines.
The octopus liver is a large oval brownish organ that performs several functions. It produces enzymes, absorption of amino acids occurs in it, it is also the custodian of the supply of nutrients.
This is the digestive tract of an octopus.



Almost all octopuses (except for some deep-sea species) have abdominal cavity an ink sac with a duct that connects the sac to the intestine. I will tell you about the contents of this bag - ink on a separate page of this site.

In the upper part of the mantle cavity there is a pair of gills - one on each side of the body of the octopus. Their function is to extract oxygen from the water.
Octopuses have a highly developed circulatory system. Circulatory system they are almost closed. The skin and muscles in many places are supplied with capillaries through which arteries pass into veins.
Blood is driven by three hearts - the main one, consisting of the ventricle and atrium, and two branchial hearts. The main heart drives blood through the body of the octopus, and the rhythmic contractions of the gill hearts push venous blood through the gills, from where it, enriched with oxygen, enters the atrium of the main heart.
The heart rate of an octopus depends on the temperature of the water - than colder water, the less the beat. So, at a water temperature of 22 degrees C, the hearts contract 40-50 times per minute.
The blood of "noble" octopuses blue color due to the presence in it of the enzyme hemocyanin containing copper oxides.
Only due to the presence of a highly developed circulatory system and the presence of capillaries, some species of octopuses can reach gigantic sizes.
The largest octopus caught is Doflein's Pacific octopus ( O.dofleini), whose tentacle span was 9.6 meters and weighed 272 kg.

The organs of excretion in octopuses are the kidney sacs, the appendages of the gill hearts, and the gills themselves. the main metabolic product, like in all cephalopods, is ammonia (more precisely, ammonium ions).

The nervous system of octopuses is very developed and more complex than that of other invertebrates. In terms of complexity and level of organization, it is not inferior to the nervous system of fish.

Nerve fibers - ganglia are very close and, in essence, form a single nerve mass - the brain, which is enclosed in a cartilaginous capsule - the skull. The brain consists of lobes, of which the octopus has 64 and has the rudiments of the cortex. The largest and most numerous lobes are optical, their volume can be up to 4/5 of the entire brain volume.
In terms of subtlety of feelings, accuracy of perception and complexity of behavioral reactions, octopuses are superior to many marine animals. They have a good memory, they are well trained and amenable to training.

Among the sense organs of the octopus, the eyes have reached the greatest perfection. in form and appearance they are surprisingly similar to human eyes, not only in structure, but even in expression.
The eyes are usually located in the recesses of the cranial cartilage capsule and have a cornea, an iris with a rectangular pupil capable of contracting and expanding, a lens and a retina. In general - everything, like people! True, setting vision at different distances (accommodation) in an octopus is achieved by changing the distance from the pupil to the retina, and in humans - by changing the curvature of the lens.
The eyes of the octopus are very sensitive and surpass the eyes of many marine animals in this indicator. In 1 sq. mm of the retina of an octopus, there are up to 64 thousand light-sensitive elements, while, for example, in carp - 50 thousand.
Usually octopuses see with each eye separately, while their horizons can reach 300 degrees. However, when he needs to consider something in detail, he raises and brings his eyes together and looks both in the same direction. Some deep-sea octopuses have eyes that sit on stalks like periscopes.

Like most cephalopods (except nautilus), octopuses perceive light not only with their eyes, but also with the help of special, inherent and in many ways still mysterious organs - extraocular photoreceptors. In octopuses, they are usually small formations of orange or yellow color- photosensitive bubbles placed on inside mantle.
Octopuses can also perceive light with the help of skin photosensitive cells, which play a large role in changing the color of the body.

The sense of taste and touch in octopuses is also very developed, they can even "see" enemies with the help of taste buds located on the suction cups of the tentacles.
Once, a drop of water was released from a pipette into an aquarium with an octopus, taken from an aquarium with a moray eel - the worst enemy of octopuses, he got scared, turned purple and took to his heels.
The olfactory pits are the organs of smell in octopuses.

In the occipital part of the cartilaginous skull of an octopus there is a pair of statocysts - balance organs, which are bubbles filled with liquid and having calcareous stones inside - statoliths. When the position of the body of the octopus changes in space, the statolith stones touch the walls of the statocysts and irritate the sensitive cells that are located on the walls of the bubble. Thanks to this, the octopus is oriented in space even in the absence of lighting.

As for the hearing organs, they are in their infancy in octopuses, in some species it seems to be absent altogether. At least, attempts to develop reflexes to sound stimuli in octopuses have not been successful.

Octopuses, like many cephalopods, can amazingly quickly and harmoniously color their bodies to match the color environment, and even dead, he does not immediately lose this ability.
This property of cephalopods is explained by the presence in their skin of cells with various pigments, capable of stretching or contracting under the influence of impulses from the central nervous system, depending on the perception of the sense organs. The usual color of the common octopus ( O. vulgaris) - brown. If you scare an octopus, it will turn white, if angry, it will turn red.

The English writer D. Aldridge, a great lover and connoisseur of spearfishing, described in his book "Spearfishing", published back in 1960, such a case:
"... once I managed to shoot a small octopus, I brought the prey ashore and put the killed octopus on a newspaper sheet for cutting. The killed octopus instantly changed color and became striped - dark and light stripes on its body imprinted lines on a newspaper sheet.
Perhaps this octopus was not yet completely dead and its eyes perceived the light ... "

The change in body color in octopuses occurs according to the same principle as in virtuosos in this art - cuttlefish. More detailed description you can find the mechanism of this ability of cephalopods.

Octopuses are separate sexes, that is, there are female and male individuals of these animals. Sex products in males are enclosed in special packages - spermatophores, which have a complex structure and different shape in different types of octopuses. Typically, octopus spermatophores are shaped like a thin, slightly curved tube, but in the largest octopuses they can reach a length of almost 1 m (Dauflein's octopus). Spermatophores are formed in a special section associated with the testes, consisting of several glands and ducts.

The mating of octopuses occurs as follows: the spermatophores go out through the excretory canal and are picked up by the hectocotylus, a modified tentacle of a sexually mature male octopus. The hectocotylus then transfers the spermatophores to the female's seminal receptacle, where the eggs are fertilized.
An interesting method of fertilization in small pelagic octopuses from the group Argonautoidea- tremoctopuses, argonauts. On the head, in a special bag, these octopuses have a very large hectocotylus, which then breaks off and, having captured the spermatophore, swims away, wriggling, in search of a female of its own species. Having found a female, he penetrates into her mantle cavity, where the content of the spermatophore "explodes" and fertilizes the eggs.

After fertilization, the female octopus makes a nest in a hole or cave in shallow water, where she lays up to 80,000 eggs. The nest is a hole in the ground lined with a shaft of stones, shells and other rubbish.
Eggs are spherical or oval, small, connected in groups (8-20 pieces each). Usually the female takes care of the eggs: she constantly brings fresh water to them, removes foreign objects and dirt with her tentacles. During the entire period of egg development, the female remains at the nest.
After a few months (usually 2-4), larvae hatch from the eggs, which for the first time (1.5-2 months) live in the surface layers of water, feeding on benthos. As they grow older, young octopuses move to a bottom-dwelling lifestyle and quickly grow into adult octopuses. The mortality of juveniles is very high - only a few individuals out of hundreds of thousands of larvae survive to sexual maturity.
The female and male octopuses do not feed after copulation and soon die, giving life to a new generation.

Below is a short video about octopus cephalopods.

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From time immemorial, sailors, whose life and work are closely connected with the ocean, believed that strange and huge creatures live in its abyss - krakens, which do not look like fish, jellyfish, or others. aquatic life. However, in the legendary appearance of these animals, in the features of the unusual physique and behavior that myth endowed them with, there was something in common with octopuses. True, these chimerical monsters were incomparably larger and more dangerous. In the sailors' stories about encounters with these creatures, one could feel the living breath of the ocean and the experienced fear of people frightened by the monster. With the advent capital ships and ships, the age of a comprehensive study of the ocean and its inhabitants has come. It became obvious that the monsters of the deeps were a myth that arose as a result of the well-known tendency of sailors to the most incredible exaggerations; and the animal that gave rise to these legends is the octopus.

Since then, few sea ​​creatures received more attention from fiction writers than the octopus. Jules Berne presents octopuses in his works as fantastic monsters capable of devouring a diver or dragging an entire ship to the bottom of the sea. However, most of all, Victor Hugo, the author of the novel "Toilers of the Sea", is to blame for the notoriety of the octopus, where this cephalopod is characterized as "a plague in the form of a monster." Indeed, this is a wonderful creature, but its danger to humans is greatly exaggerated. The octopus is a curious animal, but very cautious, it can hardly be considered such a demon of the sea.

More than 100 species of octopuses have been described, but all of them are small animals, no more than half a meter long. Only three or four species have sufficient muscular strength to emerge victorious from a "hand-to-hand" fight with a person. These are the common octopus, the Doflein octopus, the Apollyon octopus, and the related Hong Kong octopus. The first lives in all tropical, sub tropical seas and oceans. The second is common off the coast of Japan and is occasionally found off the southern Kuril Islands and in Posyet Bay. Apollyon lives in the rocks off the coast of Alaska, Western Canada and California. In length, they reach 3 m and weigh from 25 to 50 kg.

Sailors' stories about giant octopuses, which they sometimes have to meet, could be considered fiction, but in the book of J.-I. Cousteau and F. Diole "Octopuses and squids" have the following data. An American scientist, a specialist in the field of marine biology, F. Wood, while browsing the archives of a marine laboratory in Florida, discovered that in 1897 a corpse of a huge octopus was found on the beach of St. Augustine. The body of a giant cephalopod weighing about 6 tons was examined by Yale University professor A. Verril. According to the measurements of the scientist, the mollusk had a body 7.5 m long, and 23 m tentacles, which had a diameter of about 45 cm at their base. A part of the body of this animal is preserved in the Smithsonian Institution. The jar has a label with Latin name animal - Octopus giganteus. Apparently, these data are so far the only scientifically confirmed information about the existence of giant octopuses, but they cannot be ignored.

Why is an octopus dangerous for humans? The worst thing about a cephalopod is its appearance. By nature, he is very timid and, when a diver or scuba diver approaches, he usually hides under the rocks. True, cases of an octopus attack on a person are extremely rare. This can happen to a diver when inspecting the hold or cabin of a sunken ship where a cephalopod is hiding. He has nowhere to go and he, defending himself, involuntarily attacks a person. Therefore, inexperienced divers in places where octopuses are found should avoid grottoes and underwater caves, which usually serve as shelter for animals. There is a danger, albeit a small one, that a diver entering such a cave will be caught by an octopus if its tentacles can hold onto the smooth surface of the wetsuit. Once in a similar situation, the scuba diver should not panic - he has a knife, and this is a fairly reliable weapon in case of an octopus attack. You should not start the fight by cutting off the tentacles. For the quickest release from the "embrace" of an octopus, diving experts recommend striking at its brain, located between the eyes. Until it's destroyed nerve center, suckers and tentacles of the octopus will act, no matter what wounds are inflicted on it.

How strong is this multi-armed "Hercules"? Here is what the English writer and passionate underwater hunter James Aldridge writes about this: “I know one person who allowed the octopus tentacles to stick to him for too long. torn from himself with a considerable amount of flesh."
The strength of the octopus suckers has been repeatedly measured. On all eight tentacles adult there are about 2000 of them, each of which has a holding force of about 100 g. Thus, the calculated strength of a large cephalopod reaches about 200 kg, but the actual strength is much less. This is explained by the fact that not all suckers, but only a certain part of them, take part in holding the prey.

A more real danger is the poison of the octopus. The mouth of the octopus is equipped with two powerful chitinous jaws, shaped like a parrot's beak. With them, the cephalopod mollusk bites its prey, holding it with suction cups. In this case, the poison of the salivary glands from the pharynx and mouth enters the wound. Beak bite leaves little damage, but because saliva prevents blood from clotting, bleeding can be quite prolonged. The severity of the lesion depends on the species of octopus and, apparently, on its size. The first signs of poisoning: stabbing pain and burning at the site of the bite. Subsequently, these sensations spread to the entire limb. The tissues around the wound swell. When the poison is absorbed into the blood, breathing becomes difficult, the voice weakens, and the body temperature rises. As a rule, recovery occurs in 3-4 weeks. However, there are cases deaths when poisoned with octopus venom.

The most dangerous is the smallest cephalopod mollusk - the Australian ring octopus. It fits in the palm of your hand, but it is formidable with its poison, so strong that after the bite of this crumb, death occurs in a few minutes. This octopus is amazingly beautiful. Its orange-brown body is adorned with iridescent blue rings. When the animal is excited or frightened, these rings begin to phosphorescent. Studies have shown that the amount of venom injected through the bite of a ringed octopus is enough to kill seven people. The curved beak of this little killer is sharp and strong, easily piercing the crab shell, but people struck by it usually do not notice its bite and, feeling dizzy, do not immediately understand what has happened.

In June 1967, the Polish magazine Dookola Svyatia reported, 23-year-old soldier James Ward, while boating in a sea bay near Sydney, Australia, noticed a beautiful octopus smaller than a human palm in the water. Ward put his hand into the water to grab it... Not even an hour had passed before the young soldier died. He was killed by a ring octopus. The poison of this creature acts so quickly that even if it were possible to create an antidote, it would not have been delivered in time. However, one victim of the ring octopus was saved. In December 1962, on a beach in Victoria, such an octopus bit young man Luckily, the doctor was able to immediately apply oxygen and artificial respiration. Five hours later, the patient was out of danger.

The best way to avoid bad luck is not to take small octopuses. with bare hands. You can pay for your curiosity with your life!

Octopuses are amazing creatures that are still a mystery to scientists. These creatures invariably attract the attention of ocean scientists with their amazing body structure and unusual mental abilities. It is believed that octopuses, along with cuttlefish and dolphins, are the most smart representatives marine fauna. However, these creatures are remarkable not only for mental abilities.

Scientists have long noticed that octopuses are the owners of eyes that are unique not only in structure, but also in size relative to body length and visual capabilities. big brain and huge eyes allow the octopus to receive much more information about the world around us than any other animal on the planet. The eyes of an octopus are still the subject of controversy in the scientific community, and far from all the details of the vision of the world by these animals are understood and studied by humans, but scientists already have some stunning data.

Unique features of the octopus eye

First of all, to say that the eyes of octopuses are very large and make up about 10% of total weight animal body. In terms of eye size relative to body weight, octopuses are the real world champions. For example, in an adult giant octopus eyeball is 35-40 cm.

The anatomical eye of an octopus is very similar to the structure of the human eye. The eyes of an octopus are made up of the retina, iris, lens, and cornea. The pupil is mobile and can expand and contract, but the octopus focuses the gaze not due to the curvature of the lens, but due to its approach and distance in relation to the retina.

It is believed that these molluscs are able to focus on objects of interest to them, which others are not capable of. Marine life. The sensitive retina and lens of the eye of an octopus perfectly distinguishes, and even in muddy water. Big size the eye of the octopus also helps him survive, because thanks to this structure of the organ of vision, this mollusk is able to see objects even in pitch darkness.

Unique structure the eye of an octopus allows him to perceive a three-dimensional picture, so these perfectly distinguish the shape of objects. Some lovers of these mollusks believe that the visual organs of the octopus allow him to see even in ultraviolet spectrum light, but these data have not yet found scientific confirmation.

The octopus is a member of the family of cephalopods. In the people, he is better known as an octopus, as he has eight huge tentacles. Since ancient times, there have been many legends and myths about this inhabitant of the seas. For example, sailors believed that a giant kraken octopus lived in the ocean, capable of dragging an entire ship underwater. These representatives of cephalopods form two suborders: deep-sea octopuses (Cirrata) and real octopuses (Incirrata).

The sizes of most octopuses do not exceed half a meter, only the common octopus, Apollyon, Hong Kong octopus and Doflein are classified as large. Some species are poisonous. They live in subtropical and tropical seas and oceans, most often in coastal rocky areas. They feed on crustaceans, mollusks and fish. Octopuses breathe with gills, they can be out of water for a short time.

Anatomy and physiology of octopuses

The octopus or octopus is a typical representative of cephalopods. Their body is compact, soft, rounded. The length of an adult octopus ranges from from 1 centimeter to 4 meters. The mass of the octopus can reach 50 kilograms.

On the body of the octopus there is a mantle, which is a leather bag. The length of the mantle in males reaches 9.5 centimeters, and in females - 13.5 centimeters. Octopus has no bones. Because of this feature, he can easily change his shape and stay in a limited space.

The octopus has eight tentacles that are interconnected. As a connector - a thin membrane. Located on the tentacles suckers in 1-3 rows. The number of suckers in an adult can reach two thousand. One suction cup can hold approximately 100 grams of weight. In this case, retention occurs only due to the work of the muscles, and not due to adhesion.

The mouth opening is where the tentacles grow from. Mouth equipped two strong jaws , similar to the beak of birds. In the pharynx there is a grater-like radula that grinds food. The anal opening is hidden under the mantle.

common octopus can change color. This happens under the influence of signals that transmits nervous system in response to external environment. In its normal state, the octopus is brown, in case of danger - white, and if angry - red.

The eyes of an octopus are similar to human ones: large with crystal and outward oriented retina. It is noteworthy that the pupils have the shape of a rectangle.

Features of the organism of octopuses

This cephalic mollusc has three hearts: one is responsible for distributing blood throughout the body, the other two are responsible for conducting blood through the gills.

The octopus has highly developed brain and bark rudiments. The brain is shaped like a donut. This shape allows the brain to be compactly arranged around the esophagus. Cephalopods are able to perceive not only ordinary sounds, but also infrasound.

Also, due to the huge number of taste buds, the edibility of food is determined. Compared to other invertebrates, the octopus has very large genome. It has 28 pairs of chromosomes and approximately 33,000 protein-coding genes. According to the latter indicator, the octopus is even ahead of a person.

Lifestyle and behavior of octopuses

Octopuses can live in all seas and oceans in the tropics and subtropics. As a rule, these animals lead a benthic lifestyle alone. They prefer to settle among rocks and algae. They can settle in empty shells of other underwater inhabitants.

For life, they choose a den with a narrow entrance, but spacious inside. Cleanliness is achieved with a funnel. Garbage and leftovers are not kept inside the habitat. On a hard surface, even on a vertical one, octopuses move by crawling with the help of tentacles.

If the octopus needs to swim, then for this, the octopus draws water into the cavity where its gills are located and pushes it with force in the opposite direction. If a change of direction is required, the funnel through which the water is forced out is rotated.

Any of the options for movement of the octopus is very slow, therefore, for hunting, the animal actively uses ambushes and color changes to get food.

The main enemies of octopuses are:

• dolphins;
• whales;
• sea ​​lions;
• sharks;
• seals.

In case of danger, the octopus often fleeing, while releasing a dark liquid from special glands. How long does this liquid stay compact in the water, allowing the octopus to hide. Some zoologists believe that these shapeless spots also play the role of decoys.

In addition, if the tentacle is captured, it can come off due to strong muscle contraction. For some time, the tentacle continues to move, which allows the octopus to break away from the enemy.

Octopus breeding

The breeding seasons are April and October. In some areas, the dates have been shifted and fall into June and October. The octopus mates by releasing sperm from the mantle of the male into the mantle of the female.

Female octopuses after fertilization lay eggs. For masonry, they choose recesses in the ground and arrange a nest, lining it with shells and stones. The eggs of octopuses are spherical, united in groups of 8-20 pieces.

In one clutch there may be 80 thousand eggs. The octopus takes care of the eggs by passing water, removing dirt and foreign objects. Until the eggs hatch, the female remains at the nest without food. It happens that she even dies after hatching juveniles.

For the first months, newborn octopuses feed on plankton and lead only a benthic lifestyle. After a month and a half, they already reach 12 millimeters and weigh several grams, and upon reaching 4 months they weigh about a kilogram.

Of the entire clutch, only one or two individuals reach sexual maturity. The lifespan of animals can reach 4 years, but as an average octopuses live 1-2 years.

What do octopuses eat

The bottom octopuses, by the nature of their food, are predators of the lurking type. Hiding in their shelter, they patiently lie in wait for the fish swimming by, crabs, lobsters, lobsters and swiftly rush at them, enveloping them with their long arms. The favorite food of octopuses are Kamchatka crabs.

Having caught a crab, the octopus carries it, holding it with tentacles, like hands, to its shelter. Sometimes one octopus drags several crabs at once. They also catch octopuses big gobies and flounders. The capture of prey occurs with the help of suction cups on the tentacles. Their strength is amazing: a sucker with a diameter of 3 centimeters can withstand 2.5-3.5 kilograms.

This is a lot, especially since these animals have hundreds of suckers. Very ingenious experiments were carried out to determine the strength of the suction cups. The octopuses kept in the aquarium were thrown a crab tied to a dynamometer. He instantly grabbed the crab with his hands and hurried to hide with him in the shelter, but the leash did not allow him to do this.

Then the octopus firmly stuck to the crab and began to pull it towards itself with force. At the same time, he held the crab with three hands, and with the rest he stuck to the bottom of the aquarium. Octopuses weighing about 1 kilogram or more could develop a force equal to 18 kilograms.

Octopuses recognize the taste of food not with their tongue, transformed into a grater, but with their hands. The entire inner surface of the tentacles and suckers are involved in tasting food. The sense of taste of these marine animals is unusually subtle, they even taste their enemies.

Octopuses prefer to eat:

1. Fish.
2. crustaceans.
3. Marine animals and shellfish.

If you drop a drop of water near the octopus, taken from the aquarium where the moray eel lives - the worst enemy of mollusks, the octopus will immediately turn purple and take off running.

Like many other cephalopods, octopuses belong to carnivores. They capture their food with tentacles and kill it with poison, and only then they begin to consume it inside. If the victim is caught with a shell, then the octopus breaks it with its “beak”, located near the mouth.

How Octopuses Reproduce September 23rd, 2016

a photo

Scientists have long established that almost all cephalopods, except for nautilus (Nautilus) and argonaut octopuses (Argonauta) - the only modern genus living in the open seas, mate and breed once in a lifetime. After the onset of reproductive age, octopuses begin to look for a partner, and until that moment they prefer to live separately from their relatives.

So how do octopuses reproduce?

In adult males, “packages” with sperm develop in the mantle cavity by this time (in cephalopods they are called spermatophores), which, during the breeding season, are carried out through the funnel along with water jets. When mating, the male holds the female with his tentacle hand, and introduces the spermatophores into the mantle cavity of the female with a special sexual tentacle.

Researchers have noted very Interesting Facts octopus breeding. Namely, during breeding, males of some species try to mate with any member of their genus, regardless of gender and age. Of course, the eggs in this case will not be fertilized, and the mating process itself is not as long as with a female of a suitable age. For example, blue-ringed octopus mating continues until the moment when the female gets bored and she forces herself to tear off the overexcited male from herself.

Even more unusual is mating in argonaut octopuses.

They have well developed sexual dimorphism. Females are larger than males. They have a single-chamber shell, therefore they are sometimes confused with nautiluses, and the male does not have such a shell, but there is a sexual tentacle called a hectocotylus. It develops in a special pouch between the fourth and second arms of the left side. The female uses the shell as a brood chamber, where she lays her fertilized eggs.

Some describe it like this: Males of this species are not destined to experience satisfaction. All because nature endowed them with a very strange penis. After the octopus produces a sufficient amount of seminal fluid, the organ miraculously separates from the body and swims into the depths of the sea in search of a suitable female argonaut octopus. The ex-owner can only watch how his reproductive organ mates with the "beautiful mate". Nature did not stop there. And made this process closed. After a while, the penis grows back. Further it is not difficult to guess. And you say no long distance relationship :)"

But it's still a tentacle. In an adult male, the tentacle is separated from the body when meeting with the female, and this tentacle worm independently penetrates into her mantle cavity, where the spermatophores burst, and the liquid from them fertilizes the eggs.

Most species of octopus lay their eggs at night, at one time. For spawning, some females choose cavities or burrows in rocks, gluing masonry to the ceiling or walls, while others prefer to carry a bunch of eggs glued together with them. But both constantly check and guard their eggs until the moment of offspring.

The duration of egg development during the reproduction of octopuses is different, on average up to 4-6 months, but sometimes it can reach a year, and in rare cases several years. All this time, the female octopus incubates eggs, does not hunt or eat. Studies have shown that before reproduction, octopuses undergo a restructuring of the body, shortly before spawning, they stop producing the enzymes necessary for digesting food. Shortly after the emergence of juveniles from eggs, the female dies, and newborn octopuses are able to take care of themselves.

Although periodically there are reports of the possibility of re-spawning in nature in some octopuses, this has not yet been documented. However, when keeping an octopus in home aquarium, the Panamanian zoologist A. Rodaniche managed to obtain twice offspring from females of the small Pacific octopus (Octopus chierchiae), on the basis of which he concluded that among the octopuses that are found off the coast of the Gulf of Panama, one or even three species are able to mate and breed repeatedly.

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