What do octopuses do?

Octopuses are some of the most extraordinary animals in the ocean. They have eight arms, three hearts and amazing intelligence. They live in seas all over the world, from shallow water to the depths, and they have fascinated scientists for years.

A body with no bones

An octopus has no bones, so it can squeeze through very small gaps, such as a crack in a rock or the neck of a bottle. The only hard part of its body is the beak, similar to a parrot beak, which it uses to bite.

Eight arms with suckers

Its eight arms are covered in suckers it uses to grip, move and taste what it touches. Almost two thirds of its neurons are spread through the arms, which can act almost on their own.

Three hearts and blue blood

Octopuses have three hearts: two send blood to the gills and one to the rest of the body. Their blood is blue, because it uses copper instead of iron to carry oxygen.

Masters of camouflage

Thanks to skin cells called chromatophores, they can change color and even texture in an instant to blend in with rocks or sand and hide from predators.

Ink and jet propulsion

If they feel threatened, they release a cloud of dark ink that confuses the enemy and escape by squirting water out through a tube called a siphon, which pushes them backward.

Clever and curious

Octopuses can solve problems, open jars and remember what they have learned. Some use coconut shells as a shelter.

A short life

Most live between one and five years, and the female looks after her eggs without rest until the young hatch.

Activity: your own octopus

Draw an octopus with eight arms and color each one a different shade. Then imagine how it would camouflage itself in your room: which colors would it use?