The ocean is a mind-blowing world that we are yet to fully discover. When I learnt that the deepest point in the ocean is around 11 km deep (the Mariana Trench), and the average depth is only around 4-5 kms, somehow it seemed quite short! As a child, my brain always made it out to be hundreds of kms in depth! Diving made me realize how far down even a kilometer is and I was finally humbled.
In my opinion, I think an octopus is 100% an alien. And if think about it, the deeper you go into the ocean, it really does look like outer space!
I remember the first time I got to see an octopus in the Andaman Islands - it was night and he/she was asleep somewhere within the reef but that was the most fulfilling moment for me. I have been fascinated by these creatures for a long time now for reasons I really can’t pinpoint.
This book is my way of showing you how I feel about them. So enjoy, and I hope you too have your mind-blown like I did.
Males have the ability to break off their hectocotylus!
This allows the female to gather as many as she would like and keep them until she’s ready to fertilize her eggs.
This works in their favor especially with species that live at the bottom of the ocean where food is scarce and survival is challenging.
females
They can store spermatophores and use a mix of sperm when they are ready to lay their eggs.
The females sometimes engage in a post sex snack a.k.a the male. This is because they know they have to be strong enough to care for their young.
Mating time
It depends on the size of the species and sometimes it can last up to 4 hours long!
Greek
the origin of the name is but Is it Octopuses?
or Octopi?
There is no wrong answer.
But to stay current - people do prefer Octopuses!
Octopuses
English plural most preferred
Hardly used Greek plural
Octopodes
Latin plural
Octopi
Not preferred
Status
Least concern
They have two blue spots or false eyes on either side of their head!
They move dens every few days to avoid predation.
The first octopus to have a fully sequenced
genome A complete set of DNA
They are also called the Bimac Octopus Life
Mollusks,
They have donut-shaped brains and are semelparous Remember this word?
(10) Acro
hat class does an octopus belong to?
Short ar in ales (10)
Hidden fro threat/predators (10)
The s allest octopus (5)
Pig ent containing cells that produce colour (13)
Colour of octopus blood ( )
Jumb un-le
(Hint:TTX?)
nlopourisp otrxnetitdoo
(Hint:Jet?)
(Hint:scientificname)
(Hint:seamonster)
(Hint:movement)
Least concern
The fins are used to move and the shorter arms are used to maneuver
Lives in: Size: 3-5 years Worldwide Deep open ocean, 3000m-4000m 8 - 12 inches
Foraging predator eating pelagic invertebrates
The dumbo octopus refers to not just one species but an entire genus of deep-sea umbrella octopuses They don’t have ink sacs because of the lack of predators in the deep sea
The first pair of arms are much longer than the other three pairs.
Deimatic Behavior
They use their bright color to confuse or startle their prey.
It’s nothing but a bluff as they don’t have very strong defenses otherwise.
Another example is the Blue-ringed Octopus
Benthic Zone
Radula
Status
Least concern Life span: Geography: Lives in: Size: Diet: 3-5 years
Smaller fish
Subtropical and tropical oceans
Coral reef or the open water
Female: 2m
Male: less than an inch
“To share such a moment of deep tranquility with another being, especially one as different from us as the octopus, is a humbling privilege.”
“Assessing the mind of a creature this alien demands that we be extraordinary flexible in our own thinking. Marine biologist James Wood suggests our hubris gets in our way.”
Sy Montgomery
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
