Octopus. Octopus or octopus - description and how long these animals live. What is the name of the huge octopus

The most famous representatives cephalopods- These are octopuses. They are quite different unusual appearance– a short and soft body ends in tentacles, nature has not deprived them of them.

There are already eight of them. And they all play the role of “hands”, which are connected to each other by membranes, and on the surface of which there is one row or more suction cups. There may be about two thousand of them. And each can withstand up to one hundred grams of weight.

Blue blood

This cephalopod breathes through gills, but despite this, the octopus can go without water for quite a long time. Another feature of the animal can be considered the presence of not one, but three hearts at once. One organ drives blue blood throughout the body, and the other two push it through the gills.

Blue-ringed octopuses are found off the western shores of the Pacific Ocean. They are the most dangerous creatures in the world. Their venom is unusually toxic.

Extraordinarily smart

Interesting fact: octopuses are quite smart animals. In terms of their level of development, they can be compared to dogs and cats. These cephalopods are capable of changing their color quite quickly, literally in one second. And this is thanks to skin cells that are filled with the pigment of the most different colors. Special muscles pull the cells, the color pigment begins to spread and occupy a huge area. Therefore, the shade of the body changes.

The smallest octopus is only four centimeters long. But scientists argue about the size of the largest one and still cannot give an exact answer. They say that they once caught a representative of a species of cephalopods whose tentacle span reached 9.6 meters. The giant’s weight was exactly 272 kilograms. However, there is no confirmation of this fact.

Most big octopus

The giant octopus Doflein is not called giant for nothing. The size of his head is approximately 60 centimeters. The tentacles have a span of more than three meters. The maximum weight of the animal is about 60 kilograms. And these are already tested and proven truths.

The Doflein octopus lives in the North Pacific Ocean. The animal prefers quite low temperatures. It is more comfortable for him to live if the water warms up to a maximum of 5-12 degrees above zero. They are given freedom on the surface and at shallow depths. Therefore, the Doflein octopus can often be found by tourists with scuba gear. Moreover, as a rule, schools of giant octopuses are found. And in most cases, the encounter ends in failure for the animal - it is caught and, usually, eaten. And only after that do lovers of exotic dishes wonder why octopus has a rubbery taste. The answer, by the way, is simple - you need to know how to cook it.

And a little more about the habitat; the octopus prefers rocky soils. The animal hides in caves, crevices and among boulders. In summer, the giant octopus lives in all types of soil. Often the cephalopod can be found on the border of sandy and rocky soils, near steep capes. It is almost impossible to stumble upon it in the center of deep bays in pebble and sandy soils. And in open areas, the octopus digs wide holes with its tentacles and uses them as its lair.

As for Doflein’s appearance, scientists say it’s hard to believe that the octopus has blue blood. It turns out an aristocrat with depths of the sea, but with a rather original appearance. Nature created it different from others, a sort of bag with tentacles and eyes. The length of the octopus's body from the rear end of the body to the middle of the eyes (this is the standard measurement of the animal) is 60 centimeters. And the total length is about 3-4 meters. The weight of the cephalopod is up to 55 kilograms. The largest specimen, which was measured and entered into the Guinness Book of Records, had the length of the tentacles, excluding the body, exactly 3.5 meters. His weight was 58 kilograms.

Animal with jet engine

On each of the eight tentacles of the giant octopus there are two rows of suckers, 250-300 on each leg. The membrane between the tentacles is not deep, but can stretch greatly, and in this form it is so thin that it is almost transparent. If you manage to film an animal soaring in the water against the sun, you get a very impressive photo. The octopus has a tube at the bottom of its head called the rostrum. This is a kind of jet engine that serves as a means of transportation. Few creatures in the world have such a “device.” To swim, the octopus draws water into the mantle, then contracts the mantle muscles and sharply throws the water out through the funnel. By the way, the octopus swims backwards, the tentacles are behind the body. In aquatic flight, the two outermost tentacles with stretched membranes are used as wings, and the rest serve as the fuselage, as in an airplane. And through the rostrum, at the same time, a “smoke screen” is placed, that is, ink is released, but this is in case of fright.

All about octopuses

But the octopus's mouth is in the center of the ring of paws. And in the mouth there is a beak, which is very similar to the beak of a parrot. However, lower jaw goes a little beyond the top, and not vice versa. Adult giant octopuses have a beak that is usually dark brown, while juveniles are transparent. Therefore, the darkening of the beak is a kind of sign of sexual maturity. The animal's tongue has a horny grater (this is the radula). It has many transverse rows of small denticles - seven in each row. The central row is the sharpest and largest; it acts as a rotary drill. The octopus uses it to drill into crab shells and shells. Usually the color of the animal is red-brown with a mesh pattern on the body and light stains. But the giant cephalopod can instantly change its color from white to dark purple.

As a rule, the octopus makes seasonal migrations in summer and autumn. On the eve of spawning, the animal moves to shallow depths and lives together with its relatives, that is, aggregations. And in the fall, after spawning, octopuses disperse throughout their entire habitat for several days, live outside of concentrations and inhabit rocky soil.
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They have existed since ancient times. But even today there are eyewitnesses who are ready to confirm the most incredible hypotheses. Judging by the descriptions of sailors and scientists, there are still giant octopuses. They hide in the deep waters of the oceans and coastal caves, only occasionally catching the eye of a person, scaring fishermen and divers.

Information that giant octopuses actually live in the sea comes from different parts of the planet. Thus, the largest octopus caught from the depths of the sea reached 22 meters in length, and the diameter of its suckers reached 15 cm. What are these monsters and why have they not yet been studied?

What do we know about octopuses?

It is their limbs that grow directly from the head, can take any position, and with them the mollusk captures the victim. The mantle covers the gills and internal organs.

The head is small with round expressive eyes. To move, the octopus grabs water with its mantle and sharply pushes it out through a funnel located under its head. Thanks to this push, it moves backwards. Along with the water, ink comes out of the funnel - waste products of the octopus. The mouth of this sea creature is very interesting. It is a beak, the tongue is covered with a horny grater with many small but very sharp teeth. One of the teeth (the central one) is noticeably larger than the others; the octopus uses it to drill holes in the shells and shells of animals.

Giant octopus: who is it?

This is a representative of the Octopus dofleini family, living on rocky shores The largest specimen, which was described and entered into the Guinness Book of Records, had a limb length of 3.5 m (excluding the mantle). Later evidence from sailors proves that there were larger animals with tentacles up to 5 meters long. These giant octopuses terrified eyewitnesses, although they did not pose any danger to humans. The diet of these sea ​​creatures does not include But they can scare a person. When irritated, the mollusk changes color to dark burgundy, takes a frightening pose, raising its tentacles, and throws out dark ink.

The giant octopus, the photo of which is presented above, has already released ink from a special ink channel and is ready to rush into battle. If an octopus throws its limbs behind its head and puts its suction cups forward, it means that it is preparing to fight back the enemy - this is a typical pose for repelling an attack.

Are giant octopuses dangerous?

Aggression of this animal can be caused if you roughly grab it or try to pull it out of its hole. Cases of attacks on humans are not uncommon, but from suffocation with tentacles deaths was not registered. Octopuses are inherently shy, so they usually try to hide when meeting a person. Although in mating season some individuals are very aggressive and are not afraid of humans. The mollusk Octopus dofleini can bite painfully, but this bite is not poisonous, unlike the bite of some tropical relatives. These large octopuses are kept in aquariums. However, their lifespan is short: the female dies after the birth of her offspring, and the male even earlier, immediately after mating.

Octopuses are amazing creatures. They amaze with their behavior high intelligence and sizes. Therefore, today we will tell you about the most amazing and unusual species these sea ​​creatures.

10 – Genus Hapalochlaena

Blue Ring Octopus

The blue-ringed octopus lives in small tidal pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Despite their modest size, these octopuses are considered one of the deadliest in the world.

9 – Benthoctopus


Benthic octopus (Benthic octopus)

The benthic octopus is actually a species of deep sea octopus that crawls along the bottom and often lives among the wrecks of sunken ships. Very little is known about this rare and shy creature, mainly that they live primarily in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.

8 – Tremoctopus


Blanket Octopus

This octopus soars thanks to its long transparent net, which stretches between its tentacles like large flaps of flesh if the octopus feels in danger. He displays them in full size, appearing larger than he actually is.

7 – Vulcanoctopus Hydrothermal


Octopuses living near hydrothermal vents (Hydrothermal Vent Octopus)

This small octopus lives near hot hydrothermal vents. Its eyes are covered with thin translucent skin, which helps it see in deep waters.

6 – Octopus Wolfi


Spinning top octopus

This octopus is considered the smallest in the world and lives in the Indo-Pacific region. If you go looking for it, don't forget to bring a magnifying glass.

5 – Amphioctopus margins


Coconut Octopus

The coconut octopus is a medium-sized cephalopod that uses coconut shells as a ready-made home. It can also be quite creative, using any cover to hide from predators.

4 – Enteroctopus Dofleini


Giant octopus (Giant Pacific Octopus)

The giant octopus, native to the North Pacific Ocean, is one of the largest cephalopods on the planet. They grow to bigger size and live longer than any other species of octopus. In fact, the record for this species was an individual measuring 9.1 meters in length.

3 – Thaumoctopus Mimicus

Mimic octopus

The Mimic Octopus gets its name because it can imitate other animals such as fish and crabs! He lives exclusively in the rich nutrients estuarine bays of Indonesia and Malaysia.

2 – Vitrelladonella Richardi


Transparent Octopus

This one is incredible and very rare view deep sea

There is the so-called Architeuthis - a genus of huge oceanic squid, whose length reaches 18 meters in length. Maximum length the mantle is 2 m, and the tentacles are up to 5 m. The largest specimen was found in 1887 on the coast of New Zealand - its length was 17.4 meters. Unfortunately, nothing is said about weight.

Giant squid can be found in subtropical and temperate zones Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. They live in the water column, and they can be found both a few meters from the surface and at a depth of one kilometer.

No one is capable of attacking this animal except one, namely the sperm whale. At one time it was believed that a terrible battle was being fought between these two, the outcome of which remained unknown to the last. But, as recent studies have shown, architeuthis loses in 99% of cases, since power is always on the side of the sperm whale.

If we talk about squid caught in our time, we can talk about a specimen that was caught by fishermen in the Antarctic region in 2007 (see the first photo). Scientists wanted to examine it, but could not - at that time there was no suitable equipment, so they decided to freeze the giant until better times. As for the dimensions, they are as follows: body length - 9 meters, and weight - 495 kilograms. This is the so-called colossal squid or mesonychoteuthis.

And this is possible, a photograph of yourself big squid in the world:

Even ancient sailors told terrible stories in sailor taverns about the attack of monsters that emerged from the abyss and sank entire ships, entangling them with their tentacles. They were called krakens. They became legends. Their existence was viewed rather skeptically. But even Aristotle described a meeting with the “great Teuthys”, from which travelers who plied the waters suffered Mediterranean Sea. Where does reality end and truth begin?

Homer was the first to describe the kraken in his tales. Scylla, about whom Odysseus met in his wanderings, is nothing more than giant kraken. The Gorgon Medusa borrowed tentacles from the monster, which over time transformed into snakes. And, of course, the Hydra, defeated by Hercules, is a distant “relative” of this mysterious creature. On the frescoes of Greek temples you can find images of creatures that wrap their tentacles around entire ships.

Soon the myth took on flesh. People met a mythical monster. This happened in the west of Ireland, when in 1673 a storm washed up on the seashore a creature the size of a horse, with eyes like dishes and many appendages. He had a huge beak, like an eagle's. Remains of the Kraken for a long time were an exhibit that was shown to everyone for big money in Dublin.

Carl Linnaeus, in his famous classification, assigned them to the order of mollusks, calling them Sepia microcosmos. Subsequently, zoologists systematized all known information and were able to give a description of this species. In 1802, Denis de Montfort published the book “General and Particular Natural History of Mollusks,” which subsequently inspired many adventurers to capture the mysterious deep-seated animal.

The year was 1861, and the steamer Dlekton was making a routine voyage across the Atlantic. Suddenly a giant squid appeared on the horizon. The captain decided to harpoon him. And they were even able to drive several sharp spears into the solid body of the kraken. But three hours of struggle were in vain. The mollusk sank to the bottom, almost dragging the ship with it. At the ends of the harpoons there were scraps of meat weighing a total of 20 kilograms. The ship's artist managed to sketch the struggle between man and animal, and this drawing is kept in storage to this day. French Academy Sci.

A second attempt to capture the kraken alive was made ten years later, when it ended up in a fishing net near Newfoundland. People fought for ten hours with the stubborn and freedom-loving animal. They were able to pull him ashore. The ten-meter carcass was examined by the famous naturalist Harvey, who preserved the kraken in salt water and the exhibit delighted visitors to the London History Museum for many years.

Ten years later, on the other side of the earth, in New Zealand, fishermen were able to catch a twenty-meter clam weighing 200 kilograms. The most recent discovery was a kraken found in the Falkland Islands. It was “only” 8 meters long and is still kept at the Darwin Center in the UK capital.

What is he like? This animal has a cylindrical head, several meters in length. Its body changes color from dark green to crimson-red (depending on the animal’s mood). The most big eyes in the animal world among the krakens. They can be up to 25 centimeters in diameter. In the center of the “head” is the beak. This is a chitinous formation that the animal uses to grind fish and other food. With it, he is able to bite through a steel cable 8 centimeters thick. The kraken's tongue has a curious structure. It is covered with small teeth that have different shapes, allow you to grind food and push it into the esophagus.

A meeting with a kraken does not always end in victory for people. Like this incredible story wanders on the Internet: in March 2011, a squid attacked fishermen in the Sea of ​​Cortez. In front of people vacationing at the Loreto resort, a huge octopus sank a 12-meter ship. The fishing boat was moving parallel coastline, when suddenly several dozen thick tentacles emerged from the water towards him. They wrapped themselves around the sailors and threw them overboard. Then the monster began to rock the ship until it capsized.

According to an eyewitness: “I saw four or five bodies washed ashore by the surf. Their bodies were almost completely covered with blue spots - from suckers sea ​​monsters. One was still alive. But he hardly resembled a person. The squid literally chewed him up!”

This is Photoshop. The original photo is in the comments.

According to zoologists, it was a carnivorous Humboldt squid that lives in these waters. And he was not alone. The flock deliberately attacked the ship, acted in a coordinated manner and consisted mainly of females. There are fewer and fewer fish in these waters and the krakens need to look for food. The fact that they reached people is an alarming sign.

Below, in the cold and dark depths of the Pacific Ocean, lives a very smart and cautious creature. There are legends all over the world about this truly unearthly creature. But this monster is real.

This is the giant squid or Humboldt squid. It received its name in honor of the Humboldt Current, where it was first discovered. This is a cold current washing the shores South America, but the habitat of this creature is much larger. It extends from Chile north to Central California through Pacific Ocean. Giant squids patrol the depths of the ocean, spending most of their lives at depths of up to 700 meters. Therefore, very little is known about their behavior.

They can reach the height of an adult. Their size can exceed 2 meters. Without any warning, they emerge from the darkness in groups and feed on fish on the surface. Like their octopus relative, giant squids can change their color by opening and closing pigment-filled sacs in their skin called chromatophores. By quickly closing these chromatophores, they turn white. Perhaps this is necessary to distract the attention of other predators, or perhaps it is a form of communication. And if something alarms them or they behave aggressively, then their color turns red.

Fishermen who cast their lines and try to catch these giants off the coast of Central America call them red devils. These same fishermen talk about how squids pulled people overboard and ate them. The squid's behavior does nothing to alleviate these fears. Lightning-fast tentacles armed with spiny suckers grab the victim's flesh and drag him towards a waiting mouth. There the sharp beak breaks and shreds the food. Red Devil Apparently giant squids eat everything they can catch, even their own kind. As a desperate measure of defense, the weaker squid shoots an ink cloud from a sac near its head. This dark pigment is designed to hide and confuse enemies.

Few people have had the opportunity or the courage to approach a giant squid in the water. But one director making a film about wild animals went down into the dark to make this unique material. The squid quickly surrounds him, first showing curiosity and then aggression. The tentacles have grabbed his mask and regulator and this is fraught with the cessation of air. It will be able to restrain the squid and return to the surface if it also shows aggression and behaves like a predator. This short meeting gave some insight into intelligence, strength and

But the real giants are the krakens that live in the Bermuda area. They can reach a length of up to 20 meters, and at the very bottom hide monsters up to 50 meters long. Their targets are sperm whales and whales.

This is how the Englishman Wullen described one such fight: “At first it was like the eruption of an underwater volcano. Looking through binoculars, I was convinced that neither the volcano nor the earthquake had anything to do with what was happening in the ocean. But the forces operating there were so enormous that I can be excused for the first assumption: a very large sperm whale was locked in mortal combat with a giant squid almost as big as himself. It seemed as if the endless tentacles of the mollusk had entangled the entire body of the enemy in a continuous net. Even next to the ominously black head of a sperm whale, the squid's head seemed such a terrible object that one would not always dream of it even in a nightmare. Huge and bulging eyes against the deathly pale background of the squid’s body made it look like a monstrous ghost.”

Octopuses, or octopaceae(lat. Octōpoda from ancient Greek ὀϰτώ "eight" and πούς "leg") are the most famous representatives of cephalopods. Typical octopuses, the description of which is given in this article, are representatives of the suborder Incirrina, benthic animals. But some representatives of this suborder and all species of the second suborder, Cirrina- pelagic animals that live in the water column, and many of them are found only at great depths.

Anatomy and physiology

The body is short, soft, oval at the back. Oral opening located in the place where its tentacles converge, and the anal one opens under the mantle. The robe resembles a wrinkled leather bag. The octopus's mouth is equipped with two powerful jaws, similar to the beak of a parrot. The pharynx has a grater (radula) that grinds food.

The head bears eight long tentacles - “arms”. The “hands” are connected to each other by a thin membrane and have from one to three rows of suckers. On all eight tentacles of an adult octopus there are about 2000 of them, each of which has a holding force of about 100 g, and, unlike those created by man, the octopus’s suction cups require effort when holding, and not when sucking, that is, they are held only by muscle effort.

Octopuses have unusual ability- due to the absence of bones, they can change shape. For example, some octopuses, while hunting, lie flat on the bottom, masquerading as flounder. They can also freely pass through holes with a diameter of 6 centimeters and remain in a limited space of 1/4 of the body volume.

Nervous system and sensory organs

Weight

Some species reach enormous sizes - total length up to 300 cm and weight up to 50 kg (Nesis, 1982; Fillipova et al., 1997). According to other sources, Doflein's octopus reaches a length of 960 cm and a weight of up to 270 kg (High, 1976; Hartwick, 1983).

Lifespan

Many species winter in deeper waters and move to shallow waters in the summer.

Social structure

Loner, territorial. Often lives next to octopuses of the same size

Reproduction

The nest is a hole in the ground, lined with a rampart of stones and shells. The eggs are spherical, connected in groups of 8-20 pieces. After fertilization, the female makes a nest in a hole or cave in shallow water, where she lays up to 80 thousand eggs. The female always takes care of the eggs: she constantly ventilates them, passing water through the so-called siphon. She uses her tentacles to remove foreign objects and dirt. During the entire period of egg development, the female remains at the nest without food and often dies after the young hatch.

Eating

Eating octopus is common in many cultures. In Japanese cuisine, octopus is a common product used in dishes such as sushi and takoyaki. They are also eaten alive. Live octopuses are cut into thin pieces and eaten within a few minutes while the tentacle muscles continue to convulse. They also eat octopuses in the Hawaiian Islands. Octopus is often used in Mediterranean cuisine. Octopus is a source of vitamins B 3, B 12, potassium, phosphorus and selenium. Cook octopuses carefully to remove mucus, odor and ink residue.

Inks from octopods and other cephalopods are sought after by artists for their durability and beautiful brown tone(hence the name “sepia tone”).

Classification

• Class: CEPHALOPODA
  • Subclass: Nautiloidea
  • Subclass: Coleoidea
    • Superorder: Decapodiformes
    • Superorder: Octopodiformes
      • Order: Vampyromorphida
      • Order: Octopoda
        • • • • Genus: † Keuppia
                • View: † Keuppia levante
                • View: † Keuppia hyperbolaris
              • Genus: † Palaeoctopus
              • Genus: † Paleocirroteuthis
              • Genus: † Pohlsepia
              • Genus: † Proteroctopus
              • Genus: † Styletoctopus
                • View: † Styletoctopus annae
        • Suborder: Cirrina
          • • Family: Opisthoteuthidae
            • Family: Cirroteuthidae
            • Family: Stauroteuthidae
        • Suborder: Incirrina
          • • Family: Amphitretidae
            • Family: Bolitaenidae
            • Family: Octopodidae
            • Family: Vitreledonellidae
          • Superfamily: Argonautoida
            • Family: Alloposidae
            • Family: Argonautidae
            • Family: Ocythoidae
            • Family: Tremoctopodidae

Bad reputation

Drawing by French naturalist Pierre Denis de Montfort. Beginning of the 19th century