This article is 15 Amazing Fun Facts about the Octopus. Let’s jump straight in.
Family: Octopodidae
FACT #1 Octopuses have fantastic defence mechanisms
Octopuses predominantly rely on concealment to hide themselves away from potential predators. But here are some of the other methods in their arsenal:
- Camouflage: Octopuses can rapidly change their skin color to blend into their environment to hide in plain sight. They do this using specialized cells called chromatophores, which contain colored pigments.
- Ink: They can squirt clouds of ink into the water as a distraction to potential predators. The ink impairs the chaser’s vision and sense of smell, allowing the octopus to make a hasty getaway.
- Speed: We already covered that Octopuses are quite rapid when they need to be, and escaping predators is one of the main reasons for them to use this capability.
- Mimicry: Octopuses have been observed putting on a display using two arms to make them look like a snake!
- Threats: When cornered, they will try and intimidate would-be predators by puffing themselves up and rapidly changing color to confuse.
- Decoy: Octopuses have the unusual ability to detach a limb, either as a sacrifice or as a decoy. The limb continues to function by moving around to confuse the predator.
- Venom: All Octopuses have venom in their bite, and some, like the blue-ringed Octopus, are deadly to even humans.
FACT #2 Octopuses have amazing regenerative capability
If they do lose a limb to a predator, Octopuses can grow them back. However, unlike many other animals that have similar abilities, the new limb is a perfect functional copy of the old one, and can be sacrificed again if the Octopus gets into another sticky situation.
FACT #3 Octopuses have three hearts
Two of their hearts pump blood to the gills, where it picks up oxygen. The third heart circulates the oxygenated blood throughout the body.
FACT #4 Octopuses have nine brains
Their neurons are distributed throughout their bodies, with two-thirds shared in each limb. Each of their limbs can work independently from the others, and each includes a sense of touch and taste.
FACT #5 Octopuses don’t eat seafarers!
In 1180, a myth emerged from King Sverre of Norway of a giant monster in the sea, and became known as the Kraken, a beast so large that it was capable of attacking and capsizing a ship.
It’s thought that these early accounts were Giant Squid and not an Octopus. It turns out that there are verified accounts of boats targeted by squid dating back to 1870. However, many of the accounts have been embellished significantly over the years.
Octopuses eat crabs, scallops, and small fish. They will also eat a smaller octopus if they get the opportunity!
FACT #6 The Coconut Octopus loves to wear body armor
The Coconut Octopus has found a novel way to hide and protect itself from would-be predators. They use mollusk shells as body armour, skillfully wrapping them around their bodies like medieval shields.
FACT #7 They are excellent builders
Octopuses are experts at making dens to live in. In addition to making their homes in natural rock cavities and coral reefs, they often build dens by moving rocks into place, and are even known to place rocks over the entrance like a door.
This resourceful octopus has made a home in some of our discarded waste. Hopefully, there are no sharp edges on this old glass bottle!
FACT #8 They are mostly solitary animals
Octopuses generally live solitary lives and will fiercely defend their territories against intruders. However, they occasionally live in areas with high densities of octupuses. There are two areas in Australia called Octopolis and Octlantis, where up to 15 octopuses can be observed living in a sort of settlement.
FACT #9 They might not be color blind after all!
It has long been assumed that Octopuses see the world in black and white. But the fact is, we don’t know for sure. It turns out that their eyes are similar to ours in that they contain an iris, a pupil, and a lens. But importantly, they lack the receptors that humans have, which perceive color.
However, studies suggest that Octopus may use a complex mechanism to divide wavelengths up, focus the data onto the retina, and thus enable them to see in color.
FACT #10 Octopus lay eggs
Depending on the species, a female octopus can lay between 45,000 and a staggering 500,000 eggs, which are cared for up to 5 months until they hatch. During this time, the female doesn’t eat, and effectively starves to death shortly after her young hatch.
Males have a similar fate and die very shortly after mating! So, all in all, their reproductive cycle is quite tragic!
FACT #11 The Pacific Octopus is truly a giant!
The Pacific Octopus is a giant of an animal. It doesn’t quite live up to the legends of the Kraken, but measures up to 5m long with a body weight of up to 50kg.
FACT #12 They have royal blood
Octopuses have a pigment in their blood called hemocyanin, which carries oxygen around their bodies. Hemocyanin is the equivalent of hemoglobin in human blood, but contains copper rather than iron. The copper in hemocyanin causes octopus blood to appear blue.
FACT #13 Octopuses have both arms and legs
We tend to describe the octopus as having eight arms, but on a technicality, they have arms and legs. Two of their limbs act more like legs as they use them to walk along the seabed. The other six limbs are used as arms.
FACT #14 Octopuses are pretty fast swimmers
Speedy animals tend to look muscular and/or streamlined, so you wouldn’t automatically consider the octopus to be a contender in the 100m freestyle. But these animals can propel themselves at up to 25 miles per hour using jet propulsion. They do this by sucking water into a muscular sack and then expelling it through a narrow tube called a siphon.
FACT #15 Octopus live in all the world’s oceans
There are over 300 species of octopus, and whilst most seem to prefer warm, tropical waters, they can also be found in colder waters, including the deep ocean.
REFERENCES
- Reid, Amanda. Cephalopods of Australia and Sub-Antarctic Territories, CSIRO Publishing, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 09/05/2025]
- Cephalopods Present and Past: New Insights and Fresh Perspectives, edited by Neil H. Landman, et al., Springer Netherlands, 2007. ProQuest Ebook Central. [Accessed 09/05/2025]
