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An octopus (pl.: octopuses or octopodes [a]) is a soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusc of the order Octopoda (/ ɒ k ˈ t ɒ p ə d ə /, ok-TOP-ə-də [3]). The order consists of some 300 species and is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids , cuttlefish , and nautiloids .
Octopus is the largest genus of octopuses, comprising about 100 species.These species are widespread throughout the world's oceans. Many species formerly placed in the genus Octopus are now assigned to other genera within the family.
The hatchlings are planktonic (c. 2 mm or 3 ⁄ 32 inch in size) and will not have parental protection after hatching, as algae octopuses are semelparous, dying shortly after their young are hatched. As the hatchlings grow larger, they remain in the intertidal zones and begin to burrow into the sandy bottom.
Octopuses can maintain a constant oxygen uptake even when oxygen concentrations in the water decrease to around 3.5 kPa (0.51 psi) [22] or 31.6% saturation (standard deviation 8.3%). [17] If oxygen saturation in sea water drops to about 1–10% it can be fatal for Octopus vulgaris depending on the weight of the animal and the water temperature ...
The fins of cirrate octopods are associated with a unique cartilage-like shell in a shell sac. In cross-section, the fins have distinct proximal and distal regions, both of which are covered by a thin surface sheath of muscle. The suborder is named for small, cilia-like strands (cirri) on the arms of the octopus, a pair for each sucker. These ...
Octopus bimaculoides observed at Nicholson Point in La Jolla, California in August, 2024. Close-up of the chromatophores on Octopus bimaculoides. The California two-spot octopus (Octopus bimaculoides), often simply called a "bimac", is an octopus species native to many parts of the Pacific Ocean including the coast of California. One can ...
To understand the inner details of octopus lives, researchers dived for about a month at a reef off the coast of Eilat, Israel, and tracked 13 octopuses for a total of 120 hours using several cameras.
About 3.3 million tonnes (3.6 million short tons) are commercially fished, worth $6 billion annually. [3] Over thousands of years, humans have caught them using lures, spears, pot traps, nets, and bare hands. [23] The octopus is parasitized by the mesozoan Dicyemodeca anthinocephalum , which lives in its renal appendages. [24]