Uploaded July 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Octopus, in general, any eight-armed cephalopod (octopod) mollusk of the order Octopoda. The true octopuses are members of the genus Octopus, a large group of widely distributed shallow-water cephalopods.
Octopuses vary greatly in size: the smallest (O. arborescens) is about 5 cm (2 inches) long, while the largest species, the reddish pink giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), may grow to 5.4 metres (18 feet) in length and have an arm span of almost 9 metres (30 feet). The typical octopus has a saccular body: the head is only slightly demarcated from the body and has large complex eyes and eight contractile arms. Each arm bears two rows of fleshy suckers that are capable of great holding power. The arms are joined at their bases by a web of tissue known as the skirt, at the centre of which lies the mouth. The latter organ has a pair of sharp horny beaks and a filelike organ, the radula, for drilling shells and rasping.
The octopus takes water into its mantle and expels the water after respiration through a short funnel or siphon. Most octopuses move by crawling along the bottom with their arms and suckers, though when alarmed they may shoot swiftly backward by ejecting a jet of water from the siphon. When endangered, they eject an inky substance, which is used as a screen; the substance produced by some species paralyzes the sensory organs of the attacker.
Octopus, in general, any eight-armed cephalopod (octopod) mollusk of the order Octopoda. The true octopuses are members of the genus Octopus, a large group of widely distributed shallow-water cephalopods.
Octopuses vary greatly in size: the smallest (O. arborescens) is about 5 cm (2 inches) long, while the largest species, the reddish pink giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini), may grow to 5.4 metres (18 feet) in length and have an arm span of almost 9 metres (30 feet). The typical octopus has a saccular body: the head is only slightly demarcated from the body and has large complex eyes and eight contractile arms. Each arm bears two rows of fleshy suckers that are capable of great holding power. The arms are joined at their bases by a web of tissue known as the skirt, at the centre of which lies the mouth. The latter organ has a pair of sharp horny beaks and a filelike organ, the radula, for drilling shells and rasping.
The octopus takes water into its mantle and expels the water after respiration through a short funnel or siphon. Most octopuses move by crawling along the bottom with their arms and suckers, though when alarmed they may shoot swiftly backward by ejecting a jet of water from the siphon. When endangered, they eject an inky substance, which is used as a screen; the substance produced by some species paralyzes the sensory organs of the attacker.
