cephalopod

Collection: Octopus Wet Specimen

Posted on by emmalena15

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This is a baby octopus wet specimen in a really cool triangle shaped jar. I bought it for M for our 2 year anniversary.

Octopuses (or octopi- both are correct!) are cephalopod molluscs without skeletons that are some of the most intelligent invertebrates in the world. They have hard beaks in the middle of their 8 legs. They have very unique defense systems, from expelling ink at a predator to some of the best camouflage abilities in the animal kingdom. All octopuses are also venomous, but only one species is deadly to humans (the blue-ringed octopus we posted about a while ago for our wishlist!).

Octopuses have a very short life expectancy, living from anywhere between 6 months to 5 years. Males can live for only a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch because they spend the month taking care of their unhatched eggs without eating, eventually dying of starvation.

They can be trained to differentiate between shapes and patterns, they can break out of their aquariums, and they have been observed using tools. As you can tell we think octopuses are awesome!

Octopus
An unknown species of baby octopus in a jar.
Size: 2.25″ width each side, 4.5″ tall
From: Etsy
Price: $20-$50

Wishlist: Blue-Ringed Octopus

Posted on by emmalena15

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The blue-ringed octopus is one of the most dangerous marine species in the world. Although it is generally docile in nature and only 5-8″ long, its venom is powerful enough to kill humans (and there is no antivenom for it). The neurotoxin it uses, called tetrodotoxin, is 1,200 times more toxic than cyanide. This neurotoxin causes motor paralysis and respiratory arrest within minutes, which leads to cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen. The venom can also result in nausea, heart failure, paralysis, and blindness, eventually leading to death within a few minutes. A single blue-ringed octopus carries enough venom to kill 26 adults!

The good thing is it is possible to survive a bite from a blue-ringed octopus. The victim can be saved through artificial respiration, if started soon enough and kept up for the entire time the person is paralyzed until they can start breathing on their own again.

We someday want a wet specimen of this octopus for our collection, because it’s one of the most venomous species in the world (and it looks cool)!