Does an octopus really have three hearts? Yes … plus 5 other facts that may surprise you

1. Do octopus eat themselves when stressed out? Octopuses can sometimes suffer from autophagy, or self-cannibalism. That is what is described as ‘eating its own arms’. This is caused by stress. A stressed animal is not a healthy one and is open to infection.

2. Octopuses are invertebrates, which mean that they are boneless. Because of that, an octopus loses its shape when it is pulled out of the water.

3. All octopuses have a head called a mantle, surrounded with eight arms, called tentacles.

YOU MAY ALSO BE INTERESTED IN: South Coasters help themselves to whale carcass off Oslo Beach

4. Around 300 species are recognised and the order is grouped within the class Cephalopoda with squids, cuttlefish and nautiloids.

5. Does an octopus really have three hearts? Yes, it does. Octopuses have three hearts; a systemic heart that circulates blood round the body and two branchial hearts that pump it through each of the two gills. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein haemocyanin to transport oxygen.

6. It also has 9 brains – one in each tentacle and one in the head. And blue blood.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Like our Facebook page, follow us on Twitter and Instagram

For news straight to your phone, add us on BBM 58F3D7A7 or WhatsApp 082 421 6033