OCTOUPUS

OCTOPUS ANATOMY

INK SAC: Resivoir containing an ink-producing gland; when threatened, the octopus releases the ink through the siphon into the water to hide its flight.

ANUS: Terminal orifice of the digestive tract enabling ejection of fecal matter.

GILLS: Respiratoryorgan located in the dorsal mantle cavity and covered with ciliated cells; muscles help to circulate water through the gills.

KIDNEY: Organ secreting urine; it eliminates toxic substances from the body.

HEART: Muscular organ helping blood to circulate.

GONAD: Genital gland producing spermatozoa (sperm) or ova (eggs), depending on the sex of the mollusk.

CECUM: Lateral canal located in the anterior portion of the intestine where especially a part of digestion and fermentation take place.

STOMACH: Dilated section of the digestive tract preceding the intestine; it receives food to be digested.

SHELL: Small internal calcareous structure produced by the mantle; certain species do not have shells.

DORSAL MANTLE CAVITY: Chamber formed of folds of the mantle; it contains the main organs, especially the gills, and connects to the outside.

MANTLE MUSCLES: Muscles contracting to force water out of the dorsal mantle cavity through the siphon and allowing the octopus to propel itself through the water.

DIGESTIVE GLAND: Organ producing a secretion that contributes to digestion.

CROP: Large sac located beyond the esophagus, where food is held before being digested in the stomach.

POISON GLAND: Organ producing an acidic secretion that forms the venom, which the octopus injects into its prey through its beak.

BEAK: Corneous formation consisting of a jaw capable of crushing, and allowing the octopus to catch its prey and inject it with venom.

SKULL: Bony structure enclosing and protecting the brain.

BRAIN: Main organ of the nervous system; it is located in the head.

OCTOPUS FUN FACTS

The octopus is a mollusk. It belongs to the same group as chitons, abalone, snails, limpets, scallops, oysters, clams and mussels. The octopus also belongs to a sub-species of mollusks called the cephalopods. This means head to foot and is used as the name because an octopus’ "feet" are attached to its head. When it comes to octopus facts, it just gets more and more interesting.

Octopuses tend to be small in warm tropical waters and larger in colder waters. Octopuses live in all the oceans, but are strictly salt water creatures. The Giant Pacific Octopus lives in the coastal waters of British Columbia and is the largest octopus in the world. The largest Giant Pacific Octopus ever caught weighed about 600 pounds, about the same weight as a Brown bear! The tentacles on the beast spanned upwards of 33 feet in length. Obviously, octopi are generally much smaller. For example, females rarely exceed 55 pounds and males average less than 90. The Giant Pacific Octopus is one of the longer lived species whereas most octopuses live only one or two years. The male can live to approximately 4 years and the female can live to about 3.5 years.

An octopus has eight arms attached to its head around the mouth. These “arms” have rows of suckers along their length. They are covered with suckers on the surface and many nerves within, which means they are used to both grab and “taste” things. As an example, the Giant Pacific Octopus has two rows of suckers per arm with 1,600 suckers in all.

When it comes to octopus facts, on of the more amazing ones is that it has absolutely no bones. The only structure anatomical structure is the beak around the mouth, which is similar to your fingernails. By the way, octopuses’ bites are poisonous to their prey.

The octopus has an excellent eyesight and well-developed brain. It can instantly change the color and texture of its skin to match the surrounding area. This camouflage is a major method of protection.

The body of the octopus looks like a bag. It moves as the octopus breathes. Inside the mantle (the body) there are 3 hearts, the stomach and other organs. One heart pumps blood through each gill at the end of each of the two appendages. Water flows over the gills and fills the mantle when the octopus breathes in. The water is forced out a tube call the siphon as the octopus breathes out. It can force water through the siphon rapidly and jet itself backwards if the octopus is trying to escape a predator. Using jet propulsion, octopuses travel many kilometers. An octopus can protect itself temporarily blinding an attacker by squirting ink at it. The third heart pumps the blood through the body. The octopus blood is light blue.

FUN CRAFT IDEA:

Check out this fun and easy octopus craft!

http://blog.jumpstart.com/2009/08/13/awesome-octopus/

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