Where do octopuses live and what do they eat? Jellyfish, corals, polyps

How much do you understand about octopuses? Apart from the fact that they have eight legs? For example, do you understand how many hearts an octopus has? Yes, yes, the question was asked completely correctly. After all, an octopus has not one heart, but several! Or what are these creatures capable of?

Let's figure it out. And not only in how many hearts an octopus has, but in general, what kind of animal it is, where you can meet it.

Large clam

Octopus (photo below) refers to cephalopods. These creatures live in the seas around globe, starting from the Arctic and ending with the Antarctic. But still, octopuses cannot tolerate fresh water, give them a salinity of at least 30 percent.

Their sizes are also very different: from a few cm to 6-7 meters. But still, “average height” for them is 1.5-2 meters. Nai big octopuses live off the coast of Colombia: some weigh 15-20 kg, and the length of their tentacles varies from 2 to 2.5 meters, and sometimes more!

Most big octopus was found in Western Canada. This giant octopus weighed 242 kilograms, and the length of its tentacles reached 10 meters! A terrible sight for sure. Now all the stories of sailors about krakens capable of sinking ships no longer seem like just stupid parables.

External structure of an octopus

Octopuses have a soft, round body covered in a mantle (skin-muscle sac). The mantle can be smooth, with pimples, or wrinkled (depending on the type of octopus). Inside, underneath, there are organs.

The mantle also serves as water storage. Because an octopus is sea ​​creature, without water it cannot exist. In order to crawl onto land, it requires supplies of water. This reserve is enough for four hours. But cases have been recorded when octopuses remained on land for more than a day.

On the octopus's head there are big eyes, like almost all representatives of deep-sea creatures, with square-shaped pupils.

The octopus's mouth is small, with a pair of strong jaws. From the outside, it somewhat resembles the beak of a parrot. That’s why they call it “beak”. A lingual outgrowth (“odontophora”) is located in the mouth. On both sides of the body there are gills, which are responsible for extracting oxygen from the water.

Tentacle hands

Eight tentacle arms extend from the head and surround the mouth. On inside Each tentacle contains suction cups, with the help of which the octopus is able to detain prey or stick to underwater objects. There can be up to 220 suction cups on one “hand”! A fascinating fact is that suction cups contain visual analyzers. So octopuses are truly unique: they are capable of creating with their limbs!

Octopus tentacles often become the target of attack by opponents. Therefore, nature endowed octopuses with the ability to reject their limbs in order to escape. The enemy only has the trophy. This property in science is called autotomy. The muscles of the tentacle begin to contract so much that it leads to rupture. Almost within a day, the wound begins to heal, and the limb grows back. Like a lizard, you might say. But no. The lizard is capable of throwing back its tail exclusively in certain place, no more, no less. And the octopus can tear off its “arm” wherever it wants.

Internal structure of an octopus

At the octopuses big brain, which is protected by a cartilaginous capsule (skull). The brain consists of 64 parts and even has the rudiments of a cortex. Biologists associate the mind of an octopus with the mind of a domestic cat. Octopuses are capable of emotions and are very smart. They have a good memory and are even able to distinguish geometric shapes.

Like other creatures, octopuses have a liver, stomach, glands and intestines. Thus, the alimentary tract penetrates the liver and brain on its way to the stomach. The food tract is very narrow, therefore, before swallowing food, the octopus crushes it well with its “beak”. Then, already in the stomach, it digests food with the help of digestive juice, which is produced by the liver and pancreas. In the stomach of the octopus there is a process - the caecum, which is responsible for the absorption of necessary substances. The octopus liver is a large brown round organ. It performs several functions at once: absorbs amino acids, produces enzymes and stores nutrients.

In the occipital part of the skull there are organs of balance - statocysts. These are bubbles containing liquid and calcareous stones (statolites). When the octopus's body changes position in space, the pebbles move and come into contact with the walls of the bubbles covered with sensitive cells, which greatly irritates the octopus. It is in this way that he can navigate in space even without light.

In a special appendix of the rectum, the octopus stores a supply of poisonous ink, which serves good remedy protection. The skin (or more precisely, the mantle of an octopus) contains special cells: chromotophores and iridiocysts, which are responsible for the ability to change colors. The first ones contain dark, reddish, brown, yellowish and orange pigments. The second allows octopuses to turn purple, greenish, blue or iron color.

Octopuses have a highly developed circulatory system. Muscles and skin in almost all places have capillaries, which serve to pass arteries into veins.

How many hearts does an octopus have?

So, we come to this question that worries many. It is already clear that these creatures have more than one heart. But then how much? Surely, on this moment everyone will be amazed. After all, an octopus has 3 hearts. Three! None of the representatives of mammals, amphibians or birds have such a paradox. Yes, there are four-chambered hearts, like in mammals, three-chambered, like in amphibians, or generally single-chambered (fish) hearts. But each has one heart!

Then why does an octopus have 3 hearts? Let us recall that the heart is a muscle that, contracting at a certain speed, pumps blood in a living organism. So, cephalopods, which include the octopus, do not have very “successful” gills: they create strong blood resistance. Therefore, one heart simply could not cope with it.

How do they work?

So, the octopus has three hearts. One is the main thing, which drives blood throughout the octopus’s body. This heart consists of two atria and a small ventricle. And one more heart near each gill (the octopus has two of them). These hearts are much smaller. They help the main muscle push blood through the gills, from where it, already filled with oxygen, returns to the atrium of the huge heart. That’s why they are called “gills.”

Regardless of how many hearts an octopus has, they all beat identically. The frequency of their contractions depends on the temperature of the water in which the creature is located. So, than colder water, the slower the hearts beat. For example, at a temperature of 20-22 degrees, muscles contract in some places 40-50 times per minute.

By the way, the octopus's heart, or rather the heart, is far from the only feature of the mollusk. His blood is also very unique. She, imagine for yourself, blue color! The thing is that it contains the enzyme hemocyanin, which contains copper oxides.

Our planet is home to about 300 various types octopuses. They live in both the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. These animals are not found only in fresh waters. Their life expectancy is not long - 1-2 years. Individuals that have lived 4 years are rare and are considered long-livers. The inhabitants of cold waters are much larger than their brothers from warm seas and oceans. The smallest eight-legged mollusks do not exceed one centimeter in length, and the largest Haliphron atlanticus grow up to four meters.

Octopuses are aristocrats by blood

Octopuses have blue blood. This is explained by the fact that in their blood is saturated with copper. The red blood, inherent in humans and many other creatures, is made by the iron that is part of it.

Matters of the Heart of an Octopus

Octopuses have a main heart and two secondary ones. The first, largest, drives blood throughout the body of the mollusk. The other two, smaller ones, are responsible for pushing blood through the gills. Therefore, additional hearts are called gill hearts.

Tentacles as a tasting organ

Octopuses use their tentacles not only to grab objects, but also to determine taste qualities products. There are ten thousand taste buds on each limb. And each suction cup can bear a load of 100 grams.

Phenomenal ability to regenerate

In case of danger, the octopus can independently deprive itself of one or more tentacles without unnecessary regrets. But he does not suffer from this, and after a short period of time the missing limb grows back and functions no worse than before. This technique is very similar to the maneuvers of a lizard, throwing away its tail. The octopus leaves a single limb to be torn to pieces by its enemies, and meanwhile it runs away as fast as it can.

Octopuses are born actors

All octopuses easily change their color, masquerading as environment. This is possible due to the presence in the body of mollusks of cells with various pigments, which stretch or contract depending on the situation. In its normal state, the octopus is brown in color. When frightened, the octopus turns pale, sometimes becoming completely white. An angry person, on the contrary, blushes, frightening the offender bright color. Changing colors is useful both when hunting and when playing hide and seek with stronger predators.

Octopuses of the species, in addition to changing color, can successfully imitate other underwater inhabitants. Thaumoctopus mimicus easily imitates jellyfish, stingrays or crabs.

Land octopuses

Eight-legged mollusks breathe underwater with gills, but a short stay in the air does not harm them. They have a wonderful device in their body - a bag for storing water. It helps them survive the waterless period. Some types of octopuses at will leave their familiar environment. Relying on their tentacles, they move along the hard surface in search of food in small puddles left after low tide. This technique is also effective if there is a possibility of becoming lunch for a stronger opponent. There are known cases when cunning mollusks made their way into the holds of fishing vessels in order to feast on the fresh catch.

Parrot beak clam

The body of an octopus is very soft and elastic. The only hard part is beak, very similar to the beak of a parrot. With this tool, like a hammer, the octopus breaks the crab's shell. Thanks to the flexibility of the body, the octopus can squeeze into narrow crevices in rocks and reefs. The only limitation is the nose. If he gets through, then the whole octopus will slip into the hole.

Octopuses are pedants and neaties

Octopuses are very responsible about cleaning their homes. Every day they remove debris from their burrow using a stream of water that is released from the funnel of their body. They carefully place the remains of their vital activity in one place near their home, thus creating a stationary trash can for waste.

Octopuses are intellectuals

Octopuses are considered the most intelligent among invertebrates. They recognize and become attached to their owners. After some training, they can distinguish shapes and colors. With constant contact with humans they become completely tame.

Octopus - keen eye

Octopuses have excellent vision. They see well both in the light and in the dark. The pupil of these mollusks is rectangular, like that of goats.

A blind octopus loses the ability to change color. Blind in one eye, changes color only on the side of the healthy eye.

Floating inkwell

During the chase, the octopus throws a cloud of ink at the enemy, which completely disorients him. And while the enemy comes to his senses, the mollusk quickly leaves the danger zone. Ink not only impairs visibility for attackers, but also throws off the trail due to its specific smell. Due to this, further persecution of the victim becomes impossible.

Marriage games at a distance

Octopuses are wonderful animals, often heroes sea ​​tales and myths. There are quite a few legends about mutant octopuses and killer octopuses. However, these are just fictions. Most representatives of this species are not dangerous to humans and are themselves afraid of human society. The largest octopus was caught off the coast of the United States in 1945. Its weight was 180 kilograms and its length was 8 meters.

We will tell you about such an animal as the octopus, find out where it lives, what kind of life it leads, what it eats and other interesting facts that will introduce you better to this marine inhabitant.

Marine animals, octopuses, prefer to live at the bottom of seas and oceans and can exist exclusively in water. To survive in such conditions, there is a special flexible soft body with eight tentacles.

With the help of suction cups, it can move along the seabed, rocks and stones, and grab prey.

Thanks to them, he is able to determine the edibility of a product - there are up to 10 thousand taste buds on the suction cups. Between the tentacles there is a mouth shaped like a parrot's beak and is capable of grinding food.

The size of octopuses depends on their species and age. Its dimensions can vary from 1 cm to 4 m in adults. Average duration life is 2 years. There are cases when the animal lived up to 4 years.

Weight can reach up to 50 kg. Octopus is an animal with 3 hearts. One is the main one, and the rest are intended for the gills, dispersing blood. Octopuses are the most intelligent creatures among invertebrates.

There are more than 200 species of octopuses. The closest relatives of mollusks are squid and cuttlefish. Thanks to a special pigment called hemocyanin, octopus blood is blue. The mollusk is able to change color and camouflage itself with surrounding objects for the purpose of protection.

The main color is brown, but in a critical situation it takes on a color depending on the occasion. This is also an indicator of its condition. When a clam is frightened, it becomes white, angry - red, and in a dream they turn yellow.

Octopuses are quite resistant to any climate, due to which they live all over the world, where there is salty water from 30%, except in the north. They prefer to live separately and not encounter their relatives.

They reproduce 2 times a year, in autumn and spring, connecting with tentacles. After a week, the female can lay up to 80 thousand eggs, which will lie for up to 5 months until the cubs hatch.

They can live in shallow water and depths of up to 150 meters, but other species prefer deep water and can settle at a depth of 5000 m.

Octopuses prefer rocky terrain, settling in cracks and caves for living. Marine animals try not to leave their shelter, lead a sedentary lifestyle and hunt near their home. They are able to build their own nest where they can hide from others. dangerous inhabitants depths, collecting pebbles and corals together.

Octopuses are nocturnal inhabitants and do not leave the reefs during the day, going out at night to get food. The diet includes plankton, fish, crayfish and other shellfish. They sleep with with open eyes and only the pupils narrow. There are species of octopuses that are active and mobile. They spend time in motion during sleep and constantly move along the plane of the water.

Mollusks are able to fight for life to the last, trying to escape by any means. Their body is capable of doing unimaginable things to escape from the enemy:

1. They have high speed of movement. During periods of danger, the body can accelerate to 16 km/h. They are able to move backwards, thanks to the structural features of the body. Water enters under the head in the form of a bag and is jerked out from there under pressure, moving it over long distances.

2. With the help of a flexible and plastic body without bones, they can fit into the narrowest and most inconvenient places where a predator cannot reach.

3. The octopus is capable of taking on any color, masquerading as the surrounding area and other inhabitants of the seas and oceans, choosing the image that is most terrible to the enemy. Even when he is safe and calm, he repaints himself to match his surroundings to eliminate the slightest possibility of being discovered.

4. They release chemical weapon in the form of a dark liquid that robs the enemy of his sense of smell and deprives him of his sight. The shape of the released liquid for some time has the outline of the octopus itself.

How much do you know about octopuses? Besides the fact that they have eight legs? For example, do you know how many hearts an octopus has? Yes, yes, the question was asked absolutely correctly. After all, an octopus has not one heart, but several! Or what are these creatures capable of?

Let's figure it out. And not only how many hearts an octopus has, but in general what kind of animal it is and where it can be found.

Huge clam

The octopus (photo below) is a cephalopod. These creatures live in the seas of the entire globe, from the Arctic to Antarctica. But still, octopuses cannot tolerate fresh water; give them a salinity of at least 30 percent.

Their sizes are also very different: from a few centimeters to 6-7 meters. But still, “average height” for them is 1.5-2 meters. The largest octopuses live off the coast of Colombia: some weigh 15-20 kg, and the length of their tentacles varies from 2 to 2.5 meters, and sometimes more!

The largest octopus was discovered in Western Canada. weighed 242 kilograms, and the length of its tentacles reached 10 meters! It must be a terrible sight. Now all the stories of sailors about krakens capable of sinking ships no longer seem like just stupid fairy tales.

External structure of an octopus

Octopuses have a soft oval body covered in a mantle (skin-muscle sac). The mantle can be smooth, with pimples, or wrinkled (depending on the type of octopus). Inside, underneath, there are organs.

The mantle also serves as water storage. Since the octopus is a sea creature, it cannot exist without water. In order to crawl onto land, it requires liquid reserves. This reserve is enough for four hours. However, cases have been recorded when octopuses remained on land for more than a day.

The octopus has large eyes on its head, like most representatives. deep sea creatures, with square-shaped pupils.

The octopus's mouth is small, with a pair of strong jaws. Outwardly, it somewhat resembles the beak of a parrot. That is why it is called “beak”. In the mouth there is a lingual outgrowth (“odontophora”). On both sides of the body there are gills, which are responsible for extracting oxygen from the water.

Tentacle hands

Eight tentacle arms extend from the head and surround the mouth. On the inside of each tentacle there are suction cups, with the help of which the octopus is able to hold prey or stick to underwater objects. There can be up to 220 suction cups on one “hand”! Interesting fact lies in the fact that there are suction cups. So octopuses are truly unique: they are able to see with their limbs!

Octopus tentacles are the most often targeted by enemies. Therefore, nature endowed octopuses with the ability to tear off their limbs in order to escape. The enemy will only have the trophy. This property in science is called autotomy. The tentacle muscles begin to contract so strongly that it ruptures. Literally within a day, the wound begins to heal, and the limb grows back. Like a lizard, you might say. But no. A lizard can only drop its tail in a certain place, no more, no less. And the octopus can tear off its “arm” wherever it wants.

Internal structure of an octopus

Octopuses have a huge brain, which is protected by a cartilaginous capsule (skull). The brain consists of 64 lobes and even has the rudiments of a cortex. Biologists compare the intelligence of an octopus to that of a domestic cat. Octopuses are capable of emotions and are very smart. They have a good memory and are even able to distinguish geometric shapes.

Like other creatures, octopuses have a liver, stomach, glands and intestinal tract. Thus, the esophagus on its way to the stomach penetrates the liver and brain. The esophagus is very thin, therefore, before swallowing food, the octopus crushes it well with its “beak”. Then, already in the stomach, it digests food with the help of digestive juice, which is produced by the liver and pancreas. In the stomach of the octopus there is a process - the caecum, which is responsible for the absorption of useful substances. The octopus liver is a large brown organ. oval shape. It performs several functions at once: absorbs amino acids, produces enzymes and stores nutrients.

In the occipital part of the skull there are organs of balance - statocysts. These are bubbles containing liquid and calcareous stones (statolites). When the octopus's body changes position in space, the pebbles move and come into contact with the walls of the vesicles covered with sensitive cells, which greatly irritates the octopus. This is how he can navigate in space even without light.

In a special extension of the rectum, the octopus stores a supply of poisonous ink, which serves an excellent remedy protection. The skin (more precisely, the mantle of an octopus) contains specific cells: chromotophores and iridiocysts, which are responsible for the ability to change color. The former contain black, red, brown, yellow and orange pigments. The latter allow the octopuses to turn purple, green, blue or metallic.

Octopuses have highly developed muscles and skin in many places with capillaries, which serve to transition arteries into veins.

How many hearts does an octopus have?

So, we come to this question that worries many. It is already clear that these creatures have more than one heart. But then how much? Probably everyone will be surprised now. After all, an octopus has 3 hearts. Three! None of the representatives of mammals, amphibians or birds have such a phenomenon. Yes, there are four-chambered hearts, like those of mammals, three-chambered ones, like those of amphibians, or generally single-chambered ones. But everyone has one heart!

Then why does an octopus have 3 hearts? Let us recall that the heart is a muscle that, contracting at a certain speed, pumps blood in a living organism. So, which includes the octopus, they do not have very “successful” gills: they create a strong Therefore, one heart simply could not cope with it.

How do they work?

So, in an octopus, One is the main thing, which drives blood throughout the octopus’s entire body. This heart consists of two atria and a small ventricle. And one more heart near each gill (the octopus has two of them). These hearts are smaller. They help the main muscle push blood through the gills, from where it, already filled with oxygen, returns to the atrium big heart. That's why they are called "gills".

No matter how many hearts an octopus has, they all beat the same way. The frequency of their contractions depends on the temperature of the water in which the creature is located. So, the colder the water, the slower the hearts beat. For example, at a temperature of 20-22 degrees, muscles contract about 40-50 times per minute.

By the way, the octopus's heart, or rather the heart, is far from the only feature of the mollusk. His blood is also very peculiar. Just imagine, she is blue! The thing is that it contains the enzyme hemocyanin, which contains copper oxides.

Encyclopedic YouTube

1 / 5

✪ The illusory nature of progress, sociopathic octopuses and the world scientific articles[sagandokinz #6]

✪ Why the octopus brain is so extraordinary - Claudio L. Guerra

✪ Biology 27. Octopus. White pepper - Academy of Entertaining Sciences

✪ Octopuses Are Ridiculously Smart

✪ What If The Kraken Was Real?

Subtitles

Anatomy and physiology

The body of octopuses is short, soft, and oval at the back. The mouth opening is located where its tentacles meet, and the anus opens under the mantle. The robe resembles a wrinkled leather bag. The octopus's mouth is equipped with two powerful jaws, similar to the beak of a parrot. The pharynx has a grater (radula) that grinds food.

The head bears eight long tentacles - “arms”. The “hands” are connected to each other by a thin membrane and have from one to three rows suckers. On all eight tentacles of an adult octopus there are about 2000 of them, each of which has a holding force of about 100 g, and, unlike those created by man, the octopus’s suction cups require effort when holding, and not when sucking, that is, they are held only by muscle effort.

Octopuses have unusual ability- due to the absence of bones, they can change shape. For example, some octopuses, while hunting, lie flat on the bottom, masquerading as flounder. They can also freely pass through holes with a diameter of 6 centimeters and remain in a limited space of 1/4 of the body volume.

Nervous system and sensory organs

Color

Common octopus has the ability to change color, adapting to the environment. This is explained by the presence in his skin of cells with various pigments that, under the influence of impulses from the central nervous system, can stretch or shrink depending on the perception of the senses. The usual color is brown. If the octopus is scared, it turns white; if it is angry, it turns red.

Size and weight

The length of adults varies from 1 centimeter (in males of the species Argonauto argo) up to 4 meters (at Haliphron atlanticus). The mass of octopuses reaches 50 kg. There is evidence that Doflein's octopus can reach a length of 960 cm and a weight of 270 kg.

Lifespan

Rarely exceeds 5 years, on average 1-3 years.

Habitat and distribution

Thanks to their soft, elastic bodies, octopuses can penetrate holes and crevices much smaller than their normal body size, allowing them to hide in sophisticated ways in all sorts of shelters. They even settle in boxes, cans, car tires and rubber boots. They prefer shelters with a narrow entrance and a spacious room. They keep their home clean: they “sweep” it with a stream of water from a funnel, and put scraps outside in a garbage heap. When enemies approach (including divers or scuba divers), they flee, hiding in rock crevices and under stones.

As they flee, octopuses of many species release streams of ink, a dark liquid produced by special glands. This liquid hangs in the water in the form of shapeless translucent spots and remains compact for some time until it is washed away by water. Zoologists have not yet reached a consensus on the purpose of this behavior. Cousteau, in his book “In a World of Silence,” suggested that these spots are a kind of decoys, designed to divert the attention of the attacker and allow the octopus to gain time to hide.

Octopuses have a protective device - autotomy: a tentacle grabbed by an enemy can come off due to strong contraction of the muscles, which in this case tear themselves apart. The severed tentacle continues to move and respond to tactile stimuli for a certain time, which serves as an additional distraction for the predator of the pursuing octopus.

Many species winter in deeper waters and move to shallow waters in the summer.

Intelligence

Octopuses are considered by many zoopsychologists to be the most “smart” among all invertebrates in many respects: they can be trained, they have good memory, geometric shapes are distinguished - a small square is distinguished from a larger one; a rectangle placed vertically from a rectangle placed horizontally; a circle from a square, a rhombus from a triangle. They get to know people and get used to those who feed them. If you spend enough time with an octopus, it becomes tame. Excellent trainees. Nevertheless, an accurate assessment of the level of intelligence of octopuses is a subject of debate among zoologists due to the main ability of adaptive perception of the central nervous system. In other words, octopuses can program their brains for a specific task.

Social structure

Loner, territorial. Often lives next to octopuses of the same size.

Reproduction

The nest is a hole in the ground, lined with a rampart of stones and shells. The eggs are spherical, connected in groups of 8-20 pieces. After fertilization, the female makes a nest in a hole or cave in shallow water, where she lays up to 80 thousand eggs. The female always takes care of the eggs: she constantly ventilates them, passing water through the so-called siphon. She uses her tentacles to remove foreign objects and dirt. During the entire period of egg development, the female remains at the nest without food and often dies after the young hatch.

Eating

Eating octopus is common in many cultures. In Japanese cuisine, octopus is regular product, from which dishes such as sushi and takoyaki are prepared. They are also eaten alive. Live octopuses are cut into thin pieces and eaten within a few minutes while the tentacle muscles continue to convulse.

Evolution and phylogeny

Classification

Negative attitudes towards octopuses are reflected in fiction. Victor Hugo in the novel “Toilers of the Sea” especially colorfully describes the octopus as the embodiment of absolute evil.

This creature is approaching you with many vile mouths; the hydra merges with man, man merges with hydra. You are one with her. You are a prisoner of this nightmare come true. A tiger can eat you, an octopus - it's scary to think! - sucks you out. He pulls you towards himself, absorbs you, and you, bound, glued together by this living mucus, helpless, feel how you are slowly pouring into the terrible bag that this monster is.

It is terrible to be eaten alive, but there is something even more indescribable - to be drunk alive.

Octopuses have been somewhat rehabilitated with the proliferation of scuba gear. Jacques Cousteau, who was one of the first to observe octopuses in their natural environment habitat, in the book “In the World of Silence” this is how he describes the first attempts to become acquainted with these creatures.

It was this idea of ​​the octopus that dominated us when we first penetrated into undersea world. However, after our first encounters with octopuses, we decided that the words “drunk alive” apply more to the state of the author of the above passage than to the person who actually met the octopus.

Countless times we have put our own persons at risk of falling prey to the octopuses' addiction to unusual drinks. At first we felt a natural disgust at the thought of having to touch the slimy surface of rocks or sea animals, but we quickly became convinced that our fingers were not so scrupulous in this regard. So, for the first time we decided to touch a live octopus. And there were a lot of them all around, both at the bottom and on the rocky slopes. One day Dumas plucked up courage and took the bull by the horns, that is, he pulled the octopus off the cliff. He did this not without fear, but he was reassured by the fact that the octopus was small, and Dumas was clearly too big a mouthful for him. But if Didi was a little cowardly, then the octopus himself was simply in a panic. He squirmed desperately, trying to escape the four-armed monster, and finally broke free. The octopus ran away in leaps and bounds, pumping water through itself and throwing out streams of its famous ink liquid.

Soon we were boldly approaching cephalopods of all sizes.

There is no reliable evidence of octopus attacks on humans, however, certain species pose a serious danger due to poisonous bites, to which they can be provoked by a person persistently trying to get into contact with them.

In 1814, the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai published the print “The Dream of the Fisherman’s Wife,” which depicts two octopuses and a woman. Engraving has gained great fame throughout the world and over the centuries.

In the second episode of the TV movie “Wild Future” (100 million years in the future) there are swamps - land descendants of octopuses.

The image of an octopus sucking out brains was used in the first episodes of the 4th season of the television series Grimm.

see also