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octopus

  (ŏk'tə-pəs) pronunciation
n., pl. -pus·es or -pi (-pī').
  1. Any of numerous carnivorous marine mollusks of the genus Octopus or related genera, found worldwide. The octopus has a rounded soft body, eight tentacles with each bearing two rows of suckers, a large distinct head, and a strong beaklike mouth. Also called devilfish.
  2. Something, such as a multinational corporation, that has many powerful, centrally controlled branches.

[New Latin Octōpūs, genus name, from Greek oktōpous, eight-footed : oktō, eight + pous, foot.]


 
 

[AHK-tuh-puhs] Though there are some 50-foot specimens-and despite the fact that it's also called devilfish-this monster of the deep is not particularly fearful and seldom reaches the size seen in the movies. In fact, the majority reach only 1 to 2 feet (tentacles extended) and weigh about 3 pounds. As a member of the cephalopod class in the mollusk family, the octopus is related to the squid and cuttlefish. Its rich diet of clams and scallops gives it a highly flavorful meat that, though rubbery, is extremely popular in Japan and the Mediterranean countries. Predressed fresh and frozen octopus is available in many supermarkets and specialty fish markets. As with most species, those that are younger and smaller are more tender. The 8 tentacles and the body to which they're attached are edible, but the eyes, mouth area and viscera are discarded. The ink sac contains a black liquid that can be used to color and flavor foods such as pasta, soups and stews. Smoked and canned octopus are also available. Octopus can be eaten in a variety of ways including raw, boiled and pickled, sautéed, deep-fried or for more mature specimens, simmered or boiled for several hours. See also shellfish.

 

Octopus granulatus, a South African species.
(click to enlarge)
Octopus granulatus, a South African species. (credit: Anthony Bannister from the Natural History Photographic Agency-EB Inc.)
In general, any eight-armed cephalopod of the order Octopoda; specifically, members of a large, widely distributed group (genus Octopus) of shallow-water species. Species range from about 2 in. (5 cm) to 18 ft (5.5 m) long with an arm span up to 30 ft (9 m). The head is usually only slightly demarcated from the saccular body. Each arm is contractile and bears fleshy suckers. Two sharp beaks and a filelike organ in the mouth drill crustacean shells and rasp away flesh. Most octopuses crawl along the bottom; when alarmed, they may jet-propel themselves backward, and they sometimes eject an inky substance to cloud the water and protect themselves from predators. They can change colour rapidly, a reflection of their environment or mood. The common octopus (O. vulgaris) is thought to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates.

For more information on octopus, visit Britannica.com.

 
cephalopod mollusk having no shell, eight muscular arms or tentacles, a pouch-shaped body, and two large, highly developed eyes. The prey (crabs, lobsters, and other shellfish) is seized by the sucker-bearing arms and pulled into the web of tissue at the base of the arms, paralyzed and partially digested by a poisonous salivary secretion, and chewed by the horny, beaklike jaws and the radula, or tooth ribbon. Octopuses move by pulling themselves along with their arms or by forcibly expelling water through the funnel or siphon in the manner of their near relative, the squid. Sometimes they construct barricades of large stones; most hide in rocky crevices at the approach of danger or cloud the water by ejecting dark “ink” from the ink sac. They also change color (from pinkish to brown) according to mood and environment, sometimes exhibiting rapid waves of color changes that sweep over the body. The 3-ft (91-cm) American devilfish is found off Florida and in the West Indies; a smaller species that reaches only 2 in. (5 cm) is found N of Cape Cod. The common octopus of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic occasionally reaches 10 ft (3 m) in length; the giant octopus of the Pacific may have a diameter of over 30 ft (9 m). Octopuses reproduce sexually. One of the arms of the male is modified into a sexual organ that deposits spermatophores in the mantle cavity of the female. The eggs are encased in capsules and attached to a rock, where the female guards them. The young hatch directly, without a larval stage. Octopus is eaten in many parts of the world. Octopuses are classified in the phylum Mollusca, class Cephalopoda, order Octopoda, family Octopodidae, genus Octopus.


 

A mollusc in the order Octopoda which has eight legs and eats crustaceans and shellfish.

 
Poker Guide: Octopus

This term refers to when a player’s hole cards consist of a pair of Eights.

SoundPoker Says: A pocket pair of Eights is known as an "Octopus" because Octopi have 8 tentacle like arms. Another common name for a pocket pair of Eights is snowmen.

For example, "I hit the river and my Octopus becamse a set!"



See Also: Hit, Hole Cards, Pocket Pair, River, Set, Snowmen

 
Wikipedia: octopus


Octopus
The Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris.
The Common Octopus, Octopus vulgaris.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda
Subclass: Coleoidea
Superorder: Octopodiformes
Order: Octopoda
Leach, 1818
Suborders

Pohlsepia (incertae sedis)
Proteroctopus (incertae sedis)
Palaeoctopus (incertae sedis)
Cirrina
Incirrina

Synonyms
  • Octopoida
    Leach, 1817

The octopus (Greek Ὀκτάπους, 'eight-legs', with plural forms: octopuses, octopi, or octopodes, see below) is a cephalopod of the order Octopoda that inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, especially coral reefs. The term may also refer to only those creatures in the genus Octopus. In the larger sense, there are 289 different octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species.

Physiology

Octopuses are characterized by their eight arms (not tentacles), usually bearing suction cups. These arms are a type of muscular hydrostat. Unlike most other cephalopods, the majority of octopuses — those in the suborder most commonly known, Incirrina — have almost entirely soft bodies with no internal skeleton. They have neither a protective outer shell like the nautilus, nor any vestige of an internal shell or bones, like cuttlefish or squids. A beak, similar in shape to a parrot's beak, is the only hard part of their body. This enables them to squeeze through very narrow slits between underwater rocks, which is very helpful when they are fleeing from morays or other predatory fish. The octopuses in the less familiar Cirrina suborder have two fins and an internal shell, generally lessening their ability to squeeze into small spaces.

Octopuses have a relatively short life span, and some species live for as little as six months. Larger species, such as the North Pacific Giant Octopus, may live for up to five years under suitable circumstances. However, reproduction is a cause of death: males can only live for a few months after mating, and females die shortly after their eggs hatch. They neglect to eat during the (roughly) one month period spent taking care of their unhatched eggs, but they don't die of starvation. Endocrine secretions from the two optic glands are the cause of genetically-programmed death (and if these glands are surgically removed, the octopus may live many months beyond reproduction, until she finally starves).

Octopuses have three hearts. Two pump blood through each of the two gills, while the third pumps blood through the body. Octopus blood contains the copper-rich protein hemocyanin for transporting oxygen. Although less efficient under normal conditions than the iron-rich hemoglobin of vertebrates, in cold conditions with low oxygen pressure, hemoglobin oxygen transportation is less efficient than hemocyanin oxygen transportation. The hemocyanin is dissolved in the plasma instead of being bound in red blood cells and gives the blood a blue color. Octopuses draw water into their mantle cavity where it passes through its gills. As mollusks, octopuses have gills that are finely divided and vascularized outgrowths of either the outer or the inner body surface.

Intelligence

A Big Blue Octopus (Octopus cyanea) observing its surroundings
Enlarge
A Big Blue Octopus (Octopus cyanea) observing its surroundings

Octopuses are highly intelligent, probably more intelligent than any other order of invertebrates. The exact extent of their intelligence and learning capability is much debated among biologists,[1][2][3] but maze and problem-solving experiments have shown that they do have both short- and long-term memory. Their short lifespans limit the amount they can ultimately learn. There has been much speculation to the effect that almost all octopus behaviors are independently learned rather than instinct-based, although this remains largely unproven. They learn almost no behaviors from their parents, with whom young octopuses have very little contact.

An octopus has a highly complex nervous system, only part of which is localized in its brain. Two-thirds of an octopus's neurons are found in the nerve cords of its arms, which have a remarkable amount of autonomy. Octopus arms show a wide variety of complex reflex actions arising on at least three different levels of the nervous system. Some octopuses, such as the Mimic Octopus, will move their arms in ways that emulate the movements of other sea creatures.

In laboratory experiments, octopuses can be readily trained to distinguish between different shapes and patterns. They have been reported to practice observational learning,[4] although the validity of these findings is widely contested on a number of grounds.[1][2] Octopuses have also been observed in what some have described as play: repeatedly releasing bottles or toys into a circular current in their aquariums and then catching them.[5] Octopuses often break out of their aquariums and sometimes into others in search of food. They have even boarded fishing boats and opened holds to eat crabs.[3]

In some countries, octopuses are on the list of experimental animals on which surgery may not be performed without anesthesia. In the UK, cephalopods such as octopuses are regarded as honorary vertebrates under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and other cruelty to animals legislation, extending to them protections not normally afforded to invertebrates.[6]

A common belief is that when stressed, an octopus may begin to eat its own arms. However, limited research conducted in this area has revealed that the cause of this abnormal behavior, called autophagy, may be a virus that attacks the octopus's nervous system. Thus this behavior may be more correctly labeled as a neurological disorder.[citation needed]

Defence

An ocellated octopus nestled in a clamshell
Enlarge
An ocellated octopus nestled in a clamshell
Greater Blue-ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)
Enlarge
Greater Blue-ringed Octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata)

Three defensive mechanisms are typical of octopuses: ink sacs, camouflage, and autotomising limbs.

Most octopuses can eject a thick blackish ink in a large cloud to aid in escaping from predators. The main colouring agent of the ink is melanin, which is the same chemical that gives humans their hair and skin colour. This ink cloud dulls smell, which is particularly useful for evading predators that are dependent on smell for hunting, such as sharks.

An octopus's camouflage is aided by certain specialized skin cells which can change the apparent color, opacity, and reflectiveness of the epidermis. Chromatophores contain yellow, orange, red, brown, or black pigments; most species have three of these colors, while some have two or four. Other color-changing cells are reflective iridophores, and leucophores (white).[7] This color-changing ability can also be used to communicate with or warn other octopuses. The very venomous blue-ringed octopus becomes bright yellow with blue rings when it is provoked.

When under attack, some octopuses can detach their own limbs, in a similar manner to the way skinks and other lizards detach their tails. The crawling arm serves as a distraction to would-be predators; this ability is also used in mating.

A few species, such as the Mimic Octopus, have a fourth defense mechanism. They can combine their highly flexible bodies with their color changing ability to accurately mimic other, more dangerous animals such as lionfish, sea snakes and eels. They have also been observed changing the texture of their mantle in order to achieve a greater camouflage. The mantle can take on the spiky appearance of seaweed, or the scraggly, bumpy texture of a rock, among other disguises.

Reproduction

When octopuses reproduce, males use a specialized arm called a hectocotylus to insert spermatophores (packets of sperm) into the female's mantle cavity. The hectocotylus, usually the third right arm, detaches from the male during copulation. Males die within a few months after mating. In some species, the female octopus can keep the sperm alive inside her for weeks until her eggs are mature. After they have been fertilized, the female lays about 200,000 eggs (this figure dramatically varies between families, genera, species and also individuals). The female hangs these eggs in strings from the ceiling of her lair, or individually attaches them to the substratum depending on the species. The female cares for the eggs, guarding them against predators, and gently blowing currents of water over them so that they get enough oxygen. The female does not eat during the roughly one-month period spent taking care of the unhatched eggs. At around the time the eggs hatch, the mother dies and the young larval octopuses spend a period of time drifting in clouds of plankton, where they feed on copepods, larval crabs and larval starfish until they are ready to sink down to the bottom of the ocean, where the cycle repeats itself. In some deeper dwelling species, the young do not go through this period. This is a dangerous time for the larval octopuses; as they become part of the plankton cloud they are vulnerable to many plankton eaters.

Sensation

Octopuses have keen eyesight. Although their slit-shaped pupils might be expected to afflict them with astigmatism, it appears that this is not a problem in the light levels in which an octopus typically hunts. Surprisingly, they do not appear to have color vision, although they can distinguish the polarization of light. Attached to the brain are two special organs, called statocysts, that allow the octopus to sense the orientation of its body relative to horizontal. An autonomic response keeps the octopus's eyes oriented so that the pupil slit is always horizontal.

Octopuses also have an excellent sense of touch. An octopus's suction cups are equipped with chemoreceptors so that the octopus can taste what it is touching. The arms contain tension sensors so that the octopus knows whether its arms are stretched out. However, the octopus has a very poor proprioceptive sense. The tension receptors are not sufficient for the octopus brain to determine the position of the octopus's body or arms. (It is not clear that the octopus brain would be capable of processing the large amount of information that this would require; the flexibility of an octopus's arms is much greater than that of the limbs of vertebrates, which devote large areas of cerebral cortex to the processing of proprioceptive inputs.) As a result, the octopus does not possess stereognosis; that is, it does not form a mental image of the overall shape of the object it is handling. It can detect local texture variations, but cannot integrate the information into a larger picture.

The neurological autonomy of the arms means that the octopus has great difficulty learning about the detailed effects of its motions. The brain may issue a high-level command to the arms, but the nerve cords in the arms execute the details. There is no neurological path for the brain to receive feedback about just how its command was executed by the arms; the only way it knows just what motions were made is by observing the arms visually.

Locomotion

Octopuses swim headfirst, with arms trailing behind
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Octopuses swim headfirst, with arms trailing behind

Octopuses move about by crawling or swimming. Their main means of slow travel is crawling, with some swimming. Their only means of fast travel is called jet propulsion.

They crawl by walking on their arms, usually on many at once, on solid surfaces, while supported in water. In 2005 it was reported that some octopuses can walk on two arms on a solid surface, while at the same time imitating a coconut or a clump of seaweed.[8]

They swim by expelling a jet of water from a contractile mantle, and aiming it via a muscular siphon.

Terminology

There are three forms of the plural of octopus; namely, octopuses, octopi, and octopodes. Currently, octopuses is the most common form in the UK as well as the US; octopodes is rare, and octopi is often objected to.[9]

Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses," and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic. Octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Greek, from oktṓpous (ὀκτώπους), gender masculine, whose plural is oktṓpodes (ὀκτώποδες). If the word were native to Latin, it would be octōpēs ('eight-foot') and the plural octōpedes, analogous to centipedes and mīllipedes, as the plural form of pēs ('foot') is pedes. In modern, informal Greek, it is called khtapódi (χταπόδι), gender neuter, with plural form khtapódia (χταπόδια).

The Oxford English Dictionary lists only octopodes and octopuses (in that order), but has no citations for octopodes. Chambers 21st Century Dictionary[10] and the Compact Oxford Dictionary[11] list only octopuses, although the latter notes that octopodes is "still occasionally used"; the British National Corpus has 29 instances of octopuses, 11 of octopi and 4 of octopodes. Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary lists octopuses and octopi, in that order; Webster's New World College Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order).

The term octopod (plural octopods or octopodes) is taken from the taxonomic order Octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.

Relationship to humans

Moche Octopus. 200 A.D. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.
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Moche Octopus. 200 A.D. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru.

The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped the sea and its animals. Octopuses were often depicted in their art.[12]

As food

Octopus at Tsukiji fish market

Many species of octopus are eaten as food by human cultures around the world. The arms and sometimes other parts of the body are prepared in various ways, often depending on the species being eaten.

Octopus is a common ingredient in Japanese cuisine, including sushi, takoyaki, and Akashiyaki. Some small species are sometimes eaten alive as a novelty and health food (mostly in South Korea). Octopus is also a common food in Mediterranean cuisine. In Galicia, polbo á feira (fair style octopus) is a local delicacy. Restaurants which specialize or serve this dish are known as pulperías.

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According to the USDA Nutrient Database (2007), cooked octopus contains approximately 139 calories per three ounce portion, and is a source of vitamin B3, B12, potassium, phosphorus, and selenium.[13]

As pets

An octopus escaping an aquarium through a thin crack.
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An octopus escaping an aquarium through a thin crack.

Though octopuses can be difficult to keep in captivity, some people keep them as pets. Octopuses often escape even from supposedly secure tanks, due to their intelligence, problem solving skills, mobility and lack of rigid structure.

The variation in size and life span among octopus species makes it difficult to know how long a new specimen can naturally be expected to live. That is, a small octopus may be just born or may be an adult, depending on the species. By selecting a well-known species, such as the California Two-spot Octopus, one can choose a small octopus (around the size of a tennis ball) and be confident that it is young with a full life ahead of it.

Octopuses are also quite strong for their size. Octopuses kept as pets have been known to open the covers of their aquariums and survive for a time in the air in order to get to a nearby feeder tank and gorge themselves on the fish there. They have also been known to catch and kill some species of sharks.[14]

Classification

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A fisherman's catch of octopus dries in the sun
Enlarge
A fisherman's catch of octopus dries in the sun

See also

References

  1. ^ a b What is this octopus thinking?. By Garry Hamilton.
  2. ^ a b Is the octopus really the invertebrate intellect of the sea? By Doug Stewart. In: National Wildlife. Feb/Mar 1997, vol.35 no.2.
  3. ^ a b Giant Octopus—Mighty but Secretive Denizen of the Deep
  4. ^ Octopus intelligence: jar opening
  5. ^ What behavior can we expect of octopuses?. By Dr. Jennifer Mather, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge and Roland C. Anderson, The Seattle Aquarium.
  6. ^ United Kingdom Animals (Scientific Procedures) act of 1986
  7. ^ Meyers, Nadia. Tales from the Cryptic: The Common Atlantic Octopus. Southeastern Regional Taxonomic Center. Retrieved on 2006-07-27.
  8. ^ 'Science', vol. 307, p. 1927 (See "Bipedal Octopuses" external link below if you don't have access to Science online)
  9. ^ Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62181-X, p. 388.
  10. ^ [1]. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  11. ^ [2] Retrieved October 19, 2007.
  12. ^ Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1997.
  13. ^ Octopus Calories And Nutrition
  14. ^ Archived Google video of an octopus catching a shark, from The Octopus Show by Mike deGruy

External links


 
Translations: Translations for: Octopus

Dansk (Danish)
n. - blæksprutte

Nederlands (Dutch)
inktvis, octopus, achtarmige poliep

Français (French)
n. - pieuvre, (Culin) poulpe, (GB) fixe-bagages

Deutsch (German)
n. - Krake

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (ζωολ.) οκτάπους, χταπόδι

Italiano (Italian)
piovra, polipo, polpo

Português (Portuguese)
n. - polvo (m)

Русский (Russian)
осьминог

Español (Spanish)
n. - pulpo, sepia, óctopo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - bläckfisk

中文(简体) (Chinese (Simplified))
章鱼

中文(繁體) (Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 章魚

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 낙지, 다방면으로 해로운 세력을 떨치는 단체

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - タコ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) أخطبوط‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮תמנון‬


 
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Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Food Lover's Companion. Food Lover's Companion. Copyright © 2001 by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/  Read more
Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved.  Read more
Poker Guide. ©2006 SoundPoker.com All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Poker Interactive Inc.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Octopus" Read more
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