Apr 13, 2025, 05:37 PM IST

Top 10 wild facts about octopuses that will blow your mind

Monica Singh

.A detailed view at top 10 wild facts about the (master of disguise) octopuses.

The oldest known fossil of an octopus ancestor belongs to an animal that lived some 330 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs.

 Octopuses have been around for a long time.

Two of the hearts work exclusively to move blood past the animal’s gills, where it releases carbon dioxide and gains oxygen. Then, the third heart circulates that oxygen-rich blood to the organs and muscles, giving them energy.

Octopuses have three hearts.

The word “octopus” comes from the Greek oktopus, meaning “eight foot,” and its plural form has long sparked debate.

The plural of octopus is octopuses.

 Octopuses aren’t as dumb as Aristotle thought they were.

Two-thirds of an octopus’ neurons reside in its arms, not its head. As a result, some of the arms can figure out how to crack open a shellfish while the rest of the animal is busy doing something else, like checking out a cave for more edible goodies.

 Octopus’ arms have a mind of their own.

The ink also physically harms enemies. It contains a compound called tyrosinase, which, in humans, helps to control the production of the natural pigment melanin. But when sprayed in a predator’s eyes, tyrosinase causes irritation.

 Octopus ink doesn’t just hide the animal.

To survive in the deep ocean, octopuses’ blood is powered by a copper-containing protein called hemocyanin, instead of the more common, iron-based hemoglobin in human blood.

After mating, it's game over for octupuses

Octopus meat has been a popular food item in East Asia, Spain, Greece and other countries for centuries, and recently, its demand extended to the United States and beyond.

Most of the octopus we eat comes from North and West Africa.

Many octopuses are able to escape danger by releasing a squirt of obscuring ink as they zoom away on a jet of water. Within their ink sacs they produce melanin, the same dark pigment that’s in our hair and skin.

Ink Jet

This information is not DNA's opinion but obtained from media reports