The Octopus

Policy

This website uses cookies, also third parties cookies, in order to send to you adverts and services in line with your preferences. If you are willing to know more about cookies or to deny your consent to all or to certain cookies, please click here. By closing this banner, scrolling this page or clicking any element whatsoever on this page you consent to the use of cookies.

JOIN

ENG ITA

The octopus is a mollusk in the Octopoda family. Particularly common in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean, the octopus prefers warm and temperate waters . The most common species is the Octopus vulgaris . Other species are the Octopus Macropus and Diminutus. On average, the common octopus measures around 50 cm, but can reach 1 meter in length and 10 pounds in weight. Featuring a well-developed brain and a soft-body, the octopus has 8 tentacles, each equipped with 2 rows of suckers . The mouth, which ends with a horny beak , is situated at the center of the body, frrom which extend the tentacles . The ability to rapidly change color allows the octopus to skillfully blend in with its environment. The ink it ejects from a cavity called the siphon enables the octopus to confuse its enemies and flee to safety . In the event of danger , it can even detatch one of its tentacles as a diversion.

The octopus is able to regrow its tentacles very rapidly. The Octopus takes shelter in the crevices of rocks or by digging holes in the ocean floor A solitary animal , it only leaves its den to hunt. It is a predatory carnivore, and feeds on crustaceans, fish and other shellfish that it captures in its tentacles . The octopus moves quickly through the water, sucking in and expelling water from its mantle and steering via the siphon, the same structure it uses to expel its ink. Males and females only interact during the mating season in late winter . The male fertilizes the female using a tentacle that passes its sperm . The female lays thousands of eggs and will risk its life to protect the eggs until they hatch. A cunning and intelligent animal , the octopus has often been considered a dangerous enemy of man. Inexperienced divers sometimes try to grab its tentacles with their bare hands only to receive a stream of ink in return.