The Giant Pacific Octopus

The octopus is a mollusk. It belongs to the same group as chitons, abalone, snails, limpets, scallops, oysters, clams, and mussels. The octopus also belongs to a sub-species of mollusks called the cephalopods. This means head to foot and is used as the same name because an octopus' "feet" are attached to its head. Octopuses tend to be small in warm tropical waters and larger in colder waters.Octopuses live in all the oceans but are strictly salt water creatures. The Giant Pacific Octopus lives in the costal waters of British Columbia and is the largest octopus in the world. The largest Giant Pacific Octopus weighed about 600 pounds, about the same weight as a brown bear!The tenticles of the beast spanned upwards 33 feet in length. Obviously octopi are generally much smaller. For example, females rarely exceed 55 pounds and males average less than 90.The Giant Pacific Octopus is one of the longer lived species whereas most octopuses live only 1 or 2 years. The male can live to approximately 4 years and the female can live to about 3.5 years.The octopus has an excellent eye-sight and a well-developed brain. It can instantly change the color and the texture of its skin to match the surrounding area. This camouflage is a major method of protection. The body of an octopus looks like a bag. It moves as the octopus breathes. Inside the mantle (the body) there are 3 hearts, the stomache, and other organs. One heart pumps blood through each gill at the end of each of the two appendages. Water flows over the gills and fills the mantle when the octopus breathes in. The water is forced out of a tube called the siphon as the octopus breathes out. It can force water through the siphon rapidly and jet itself backwards if the octopus is trying to escape a predator. Using jet propulsion, octopuses travel many kilometers. An octopus can protect itself temporarily blinding an attacker by squirting ink at it. The third heart pumps blood through the body. The octopus blood is light blue.

Credits go to: National Geographic