The Superpowers of an Octopus

By Addison Grote,  Grade 8 

Some people think that octopuses are weird, creepy sea creatures. But actually, they are super interesting animals and they can do some unbelievable things. Octopuses are cephalopods which is a group of animals that also includes squid and cuttlefish.

First off, they can change color AND texture! Not only that, they can do it lightning fast. The octopus has color changing cells called chromatophores. These cells are accountable for the rapid and bright color changes. Now how do they change the texture? This seems even more unlikely. They use papillae to do this. The papillae expand and contract on the skin to form all kinds of textures, helping it blend in better.

Not only can they camouflage with the seafloor or a coral, some octopuses also impersonate other animals. The mimic octopus in particular mimics other sea animals to disguise itself. A mimic octopus will often impersonate a sea snake, flatfish, or a lion fish. There are advantages to pretending to be another animal. They can hide from predators or get close to unsuspecting prey!

You most likely know that octopuses can spray ink, but here is how it works and why it is a very useful defense. When an octopus is in danger, they release a dark cloud of ink that blocks the predator from seeing the octopus as it zooms away. But the ink is more than just a distraction. The ink contains a chemical that can irritate the eyes of the predator and temporarily blocks their sense of smell! Octopus ink is a perfect last minute defense against a predator.

Octopuses have no bones or a shell. This means that these creatures can squeeze their body into the tiniest of spaces. In fact, the only truly hard part of their body is their beak which is used for eating. The very sharp beak is found underneath the tentacles and it's similar to a beak of a parrot. So, the whole octopus with the exception of the beak, is flexible and can fit through anything that the beak can fit through.

The octopus is a very smart animal. They know what animals to mimic and they know how to seamlessly blend into their environment. Octopuses have been studied to tell the difference between shapes and patterns as well as play with things which demonstrates a high intelligence. They can use tools, solve mazes and puzzles for food, and recognize people who they've seen before.

Octopuses might be crazy looking, but you have to admit that they are impressive and fascinating animals.