Octopuses

A cute Octopus

Octopuses unique defense mechanisms

The Octopus (pl.: octopuses or octopodes) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (/ɒkˈtɒpədə/, ok-TOP-ə-də). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids. Like other cephalopods, an octopus is bilaterally symmetric with two eyes and a beaked mouth at the centre point of the eight limbs. The soft body can radically alter its shape, enabling octopuses to squeeze through small gaps. They trail their eight appendages behind them as they swim. The siphon is used both for respiration and for locomotion, by expelling a jet of water. Octopuses have a complex nervous system and excellent sight, and are among the most intelligent and behaviourally diverse of all invertebrates.

Octopuses have unique defense mechanisms. They include:

  1. Changing color and texture in less than a second
  2. Releasing ink clouds to disorient predators
  3. Can squeeze through any opening larger than their beak
  4. Ability to detach arms as a distraction which can later regenerate
  5. Can jet-propel themselves backward through water at high speeds

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