Octopuses By David Anderson

Cephalopoda Octopus are part of the class cephalopoda which also contains cuttlefish and squid. Cephalopoda species do not have a shell unlike their close relatives snails. They propel themselves through the water by jet propulsion which is sucking up water and expelling it out the back end causing them to lurch forward. They all have a beak which the use to hunt and eat. The beak is similar to a parrots beak and can break shells such as crabs. Have highly developed heads and are very intelligent. Octopus have been known to problem solve such as unlatching gates.

Physical Characteristics Octopus have no bones and is able to contort its body to fit through small spaces Has a large head followed by 8 tentacles that have a series of suction cups on them. Contains 3 separate hearts, two are used to pump blood towards the gills and the other one is to pump blood to the rest of the body. Contains a beak that is used to break shells for food Able to change colors of their skin in order to fool pray or predators

Defense 1st instinct is to hide then try using camouflage or mimicry to fool the aggressor Octopus are capable of ejecting a black ink. The inks coloring agent is melanin which is what gives color to human hair and skin. The cloud of ink is thought to inhibit efficiency of organs which aids the octopuses escape An octopuses skin consist of 5 color sacs (yellow, orange, brown, black and red) and can be flashed in different patterns creating means of camouflage Octopus are also capable of releasing a limb just like a lizard releases a tail. It will grow back later

Reproduction When octopuses reproduce, the male uses a specialized arm called a hectocotylus to transfer spermatophores (packets of sperm) from the terminal organ of the reproductive tract (the cephalopod "penis") into the female's mantle cavity After reproducing the males will die off within a few months The female octopus can keep the sperm alive inside her for weeks until her eggs are mature Females can lay upwards of 200,000 eggs

Senses Octopus have very good eye sight. They, like most cephalopods, can distinguish the polarization of light. Attached to the brain are two special organs, called statocysts, that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body relative to horizontal. An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so the pupil slit is always horizontal Octopuses also have an excellent sense of touch. An octopuses suction cups are equipped with chemoreceptors so it can taste what it is touching

Diet A bottom dwelling octopus diet consist of organisms such as crabs and other mollusk such as clams and whelks An open-ocean octopus diet consist of mainly prawns and fish. Octopus usually inject their pray with a saliva that that paralyzes then the octopus will use its beak to dismember the body. Large species of octopus have also been known to feast on some shark species

My Favorite Octopus! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8oQBYw6xxc Enjoy!!