Octopus Trivia

MANILA, Philippines - Kids, let me tell you about an interesting sea creature that is the OCTOPUS!

Studies claim that the octopus is an intelligent invertebrate (animal without bones in the body) because it has a well-developed brain. According to www.animal.discovery.com, it can solve puzzles and mazes. “Experiments show they have short and long-term memory and can distinguish shapes and patterns. They may even possess observational learning…” As proof to its amazing brainpower, a BBC News report featured five-month-old Frida [a certain octopus] who “opens jars by pressing her body on the lid and grasping the sides with her eight tentacles. She unscrews the lid by repeatedly twisting her body.” Incredible, isn’t it?

Here are some fun facts about the octopus:

1. It has eight arms hence the prefix “octo,” meaning eight.

2. Its arms are called tentacles just like its relative, the squid.

3. Octopuses are deaf mollusks.

4. It communicates by changing its color. Example, it turns white if its afraid.

5. Its blood is colored blue.

6. It protects itself by releasing a black ink to distract its predator.

7. It has three hearts.

8. It can cut off its arm when caught by a predator to escape but it can grow back.

9. Its saliva is poisonous because it contains venom.

10. It has a parrot-like beak for eating its sustenance such as fish and crabs.

11. A male octopus dies months after mating, while a female octopus dies after her eggs hatch.