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| Blue-Ringed Octopus |
How Poisonous Is Blue-Ringed Octopus Read Interesting Facts
What makes this animal famous is the dangerous venom found in it. The salivary glands of this sea creature produce poisonous substances like deadly neurotoxin and maculotoxin. This neurotoxin and maculotoxin are secreted in the posterior salivary gland of this sea animal which is located in its intestinal blood system.
This octopus can deliver poison into its bloodstream and poison has also been found in its eggs. The method of octopus venom is still not fully understood. But it is believed that the octopus either injects the poison into the water surrounding its prey or bites its prey with its mouth.
The dangerous venom of the octopus is also fatal to humans and in popular culture the blue-ringed octopus is depicted as an evil sea devil waiting to attack humans with its deadly poisonous substances. But the octopus uses its venom mainly for hunting and self-defense. There are more interesting facts about this dangerous octopus which you will read further in this article.
Where are blue-ringed octopus found
This poisonous marine animal is found on the coasts of Australia and for this part of the Australian coast, it lives in the crevices of the rocks. Apart from this, the octopus is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, which can be easily seen from the Philippines to Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea to the coasts of Australia.
Another species of blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa, is smaller in size than the blue-ringed octopus and mostly lives in the waters along the seagrass areas of Australia. The length of one of the deadliest underwater octopuses is only 2-4 inches, which is hard to believe but it is true.
Hapalochlaena maculosa can be seen around the coasts of New South Wales and southern Queensland and Hapalochlaena nierstrazi was once documented in 1938 based on a specimen from the Bay of Bengal. The blue-ringed octopus is a type of venomous octopus that can be extremely deadly to humans.
This venomous sea creature species gets its name from the blue rings that are present all over its body and the most attractive thing about these bright blue rings is that these octopuses are discovered in the waters of the Pacific Ocean in the regions of Australia and these marine octopuses live in their burrows. The octopuses only come out during foraging and mating.
Scientific name of Blue-ringed Octopus
The scientific name of the blue-ringed octopus is Hapalochlaena and in Michael Crichton's book State of Fear, its venom was weaponized by the terrorist organization. The venom produced by this poisonous octopus in its salivary glands contains tetrodotoxin which is a highly toxic substance that can cause instant blindness, paralysis, nausea and heart failure.
Octopus bites prove fatal to humans. The bite may not be painful initially but it takes about 15-20 minutes for the venom to start acting. On being bitten, the victim first starts feeling numbness in different places. This is followed by hypotension and muscle paralysis and once the symptoms develop, death can occur anywhere between 20 minutes to 24 hours.
Habitat of Blue-Ringed Octopus
According to the geographical distribution of the blue-ringed octopus which includes the areas of the Indian and Pacific Ocean, the habitat of these octopuses is subtropical with a sea floor. Which consists of rubble, sandy places and rocks. Apart from this, blue-ringed octopuses live in their cave for a long time.
The blue-ringed octopus only comes out of the cave when it has to look for prey and desires a mate. But it is not difficult to identify the blue-ringed octopus where it lives because the front of its cave is always filled with seashells or the remaining parts of the prey.
Blue-ringed octopuses cannot survive in open water, they prefer to live on the bottom and they have modified arms that make their movement easier. Not much is known about it. Like other species, this octopus does not go out of its cave, so it must be assumed that it is a solitary animal.
What a Blue-Ringed Octopus Looks Like
The blue-ringed species is known for its small size yet the southern variety is considered to be the largest in the genus. They are classified as their own species and most of these octopuses do not grow larger than 20 centimeters.
When the octopus is calm, its color is mostly a dull, mucus-like color. But once it feels threatened, the blue-rings of the blue-ringed octopus suddenly appear. The blue-ringed octopus has about 60 rings that appear bright blue-green in color.
These blue-green rings mostly appear about 6 weeks after hatching. The length of this octopus is less than 4 inches and it weighs 80 grams. Like other species of octopus, the skeleton is non-existent which means they have a soft body. Apart from this, the octopus has bright blue rings that cover its body. Read- Interesting Facts About The Great Hornbill With Pictures
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| Blue-Ringed Octopus |
Length of Blue-Ringed Octopus
The size of the octopus is approximately between 2-4 inches and the weight of this octopus is up to about 80 grams.
What do blue-ringed octopus eat
The blue-ringed octopus is a carnivorous creature and it preys on crabs, mollusks, and fishes. The blue-ringed octopus grabs the prey with its arms and after biting, releases venom that paralyzes the prey and kills it.
The prey of this venomous marine octopus mostly consists of lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and shellfish, as well as sometimes small fishes. The octopus uses its venom to eat and it hooks down then injects it through its beak. The blue-ringed octopus completely paralyzes its prey.
Another strategy that the blue-ringed octopus uses to hunt is to release its venom in the form of a mist at the location where its prey is found. The prey of the blue-ringed octopus swims into the venom and becomes paralyzed allowing it to attack it easily.
How blue-ringed octopus Reproduce
Mating of the Blue-Ringed Octopus begins with the female changing color and posture. The male octopus then mounts the female then inserts the hectocotylus into the female's underside and releases sperm into the female's oviduct. There is a period of about two months in which a female octopus receives sperm from several males.
The female octopus lays her eggs then they are deposited somewhere. At this time the female octopus rarely moves unless she is disturbed. Also when she is forced to move she only uses two arms to move.
During this time the female octopus does not eat anything. Because of this the female octopus dies shortly after the eggs hatch. It is more likely than not that the male or the female will live longer than a year. But this may seem strange as female octopuses only reproduce once in their lifetime so it is important for them that their egg survives.
Once they hatch, the babies grow very quickly. Young blue-ringed octopuses begin hunting at around one month of age and are said to be venomous from birth while their blue rings appear six weeks later.
How long do blue-ringed octopus live
Blue-ringed octopuses have a lifespan of about 2 to 3 years and southern blue-ringed octopuses have a lifespan of about seven months. Blue-ringed octopuses reach reproductive age at around four months.
How fast can a blue-ringed octopus swim
A normal octopus can swim at a speed of about 40.2 kilometers per hour but the exact speed of the large blue-ringed octopus is not known.
How do blue-ringed octopus communicate
Blue-ringed octopuses use their arms to communicate with their mates and start flashing their blue rings as a warning. Blue-ringed octopuses attempt to communicate by using their flashing rings.
These blue-ringed octopuses start flashing their iridescent blue rings for three seconds as a warning but the sounds made by these animals are not specified.
How many blue-ringed octopus are there in the world
Octopus is a widespread marine animal species in Australia but the exact number of octopus has not been estimated. Blue-ringed octopus spend most of their life in their cave.
The conservation status of the octopus is of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Also, factors such as overfishing and habitat degradation can affect the population of these octopuses. Read- Interesting Facts About Dogs And Characteristics Of Dogs
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| Blue-Ringed Octopus |
Behavior of Blue-Ringed Octopus
This species of octopus is considered extremely dangerous because of the poison present in its glands and organs but it does not attack immediately. Once the octopus feels threatened, the octopus starts flashing its iridescent rings.
Still, if the threat persists, the blue-ringed octopus will release tetrodotoxin which can kill humans. Blue-ringed octopuses are extremely poisonous and can kill humans. Therefore, keeping an octopus as a pet may not be a good idea.
Blue-Ringed Octopus Facts for Kids
1. How long does the venom of a blue-ringed octopus last?
The venom of a blue-ringed octopus lasts between 12 to 48 hours and the bite may not be painful initially but it takes about 15-20 minutes for the venom to start taking effect.
2. Can octopuses bite humans?
Octopus venom is deadly to humans as well and in popular culture the blue-ringed octopus is portrayed as an evil sea devil waiting to attack humans with its deadly toxins. But this octopus uses its venom mainly for hunting or self-defense.
3. Are octopuses poisonous?
The octopus can deliver poison into its bloodstream and poison has also been found in the eggs of this octopus. The methods of octopus venom are still not fully understood. But it is believed that this octopus either injects the poison into the water surrounding its prey or bites its prey with its mouth.
4. Where can the blue ringed octopus be found?
This poisonous animal is found on the coasts of Australia and lives in the crevices of rocks for this part of the Australian coast. Apart from this, the Blue-ringed Octopus is found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, in which it can be easily seen from the Philippines to Sri Lanka, Papua New Guinea to the coasts of Australia.
5. How do blue ringed octopuses reproduce?
The mating of the blue-ringed octopus begins with the female changing color and posture. The male octopus then mounts the female then inserts the hectocotylus under the female and releases sperm into the female's oviduct. There is a period of about two months in which a female receives sperm from several males.
6. How long does an octopus live?
The lifespan of an octopus is about 2 to 3 years. The lifespan of the southern blue-ringed octopus is about seven months. The octopus reaches reproductive age at about four months.
7. Can octopuses survive out of water?
Most species of octopus can survive out of water for 30-60 minutes and when the tide goes out, octopuses slither from one pool to another in search of food.
8. What does a blue-ringed octopus look like?
When blue-ringed octopuses are calm, they mostly have a dull, mucus-like color. But once blue-ringed octopuses feel threatened, their blue rings suddenly appear. These octopuses have about 60 rings that appear bright blue-green in color.
9. How much does a blue-ringed octopus weigh?
The size of an octopus is about 2-4 inches and this octopus weighs about 80 grams.
10. What does an octopus eat?
The octopus' prey consists mostly of lobsters, crabs, shrimp, and shellfish, as well as the occasional small fish. The octopus uses its venom to eat. The octopus dives down and injects it through its beak. The octopus completely paralyzes its prey.