This Adorable Octopus Can Kill a Man in Minutes

Our oceans are teeming with all kinds of lifeforms, including fish, whales, dolphins, sharks, sea spiders, sea cucumbers, and perhaps the most unusual of them all – the octopus. A fair share of these have interesting defense mechanisms to protect them from the dangers above and below. One of these is venom. And, as is the case in nature, a brightly colored animal is usually a sign that it should not be messed with. While beautiful, the Blue-Ringed Octopus is as deadly as they come. 

A Dangerous Fellow

The Blue-Ringed Octopus is a stunningly gorgeous creature but it’s bestowed with a dangerous gift. As one of the most venomous marine creatures in the world, it has a deadly toxin known as tetrodotoxin, 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide.

Paralyzes its Prey

It uses the venom (specialized for each prey type) to paralyze the fish and crustaceans it hunts before enjoying its meal, making it a highly dangerous and efficient underwater predator. 

Lethal Concoction of Poisons

But it’s not just tetrodotoxin that this octopus produces. Their bodies are hard at work producing a complex cocktail of chemicals. Unique to them, the venom contains tetrodotoxin, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. 

Take Down Anything

Each chemical component serves a specific purpose, working together to make the venom extremely potent and efficient at immobilizing the octopus’s prey.

A Venomous Gourmet

The diet of the Blue-Ringed Octopus extends beyond the traditional octopus fare. These creatures are known to eat a wide variety of smaller aquatic life, including shrimp, crabs, and small fish.

Leaving Only Scraps

They essentially extract and consume the softer tissues of their victims, leaving behind the empty exoskeleton. They do this by using their sharp, parrot-like beak to puncture and inject their venom, quickly turning their meal into an easily digestible soup.

Bland Beige

The Blue-Ringed Octopus can alter its skin color effortlessly to blend into its surroundings. When undisturbed, it’s actually a subdued gray or beige color.

Vibrant Yellow and Blue

Thanks to its dermal chromatophore cells, the octopus can change its skin color to a vibrant yellow with blue rings, signifying that it’s under threat and ‘telling’ potential predators to back off or they’ll be in for a rough time. 

Small but Mighty

With a body just five to eight inches long, it carries enough venom to kill 26 adult humans within minutes, thus making the Blue-Ringed Octopus one of the major threats in the oceanic food chain. Theoretically, it could even take down a shark. 

Blue Blood

The blue hue comes from a copper-based molecule, hemocyanin, used for carrying oxygen. This intriguing adaptation allows them to survive in oxygen-depleted environments.

Three Hearts

Although having blue blood is common among cephalopods and certain species of crab, the Blue-Ringed Octopus also has three hearts on top of that, working together to keep the creature oxygenated.

Immune to Its Own Venom

The Blue-Ringed Octopus wouldn’t be affected if it accidentally bit itself. This tiny aquatic wonder is fully immune to its own venom. Because accidental self-bites do happen (though rarely), this adaptation allows it to survive venom injections that would kill most other animals.

Donut Brain

The Blue-Ringed Octopus has an unusually constructed brain, resembling a donut. The reason their resembles a donut is because it wraps around the octopus’s esophagus which allows them to process information from all eight arms simultaneously.

Jet Power

The octopus, having a reduced shell, propels itself through the water via a funnel that it uses to expel water under pressure. Threatened situations prompt it to produce a stream of ink, causing a quick diversion for a tactical escape.

12 Scary Creatures of the Planet

12 Scary Creatures of the Planet