Octopus

The octopus is one of a number of kinds of predatory marine cephalopod molluscs, found in the warmer seas of the world.

Generally less actively swimming than their fellow cephalopods squid and cuttlefish, octopi have eight suckered tentacles used for attachment to rocks and to prey. To move, it may pull itself over the sea bed with its tentacles, but when in a hurry, it shoots a jet of water out of its body, thrusting it through the water.

Octopi use chromatophores to perfectly camouflage themselves against their background. When threatened, they can eject a cloud of ink to mask their escape.

Octopi are highly intelligent, and are capable of opening jars-up to four at once-and solving simple jigsaw puzzles. They can compress their bodies to fit through minute apertures.

Octopi, having engulfed their prey in their arms, inject it with venom, and some, such as the blue-ringed octopus of Australia are highly poisonous and are capable of killing a man with their bite.

The existence of giant arboreal octopi, on a scale similar to the giant squid, has been suspected for many years, but no verified specimens have yet been captured.

Octopuses are a popular seafood especially in Mediterranean cuisine, though must be cooked carefully to avoid their flesh becoming rubbery.