I'm not sensationalizing, that's a long-standing claim. Just as the so-called no wind and no waves, a search on the Internet, articles about octopuses are alien creatures, abound. At the end of the day, it all comes down to the octopus's quirky body structure and highly developed nervous system.
Eerie body structure
Octopus, marine mollusk, has 26 genera and more than 252 species. We have the impression that the octopus has 8 tentacles, so the octopus is also called "octopus". The octopus body is short ovoid, sac-shaped, without fins; the division between the head and the body is not obvious, the octopus has a head carcass of about 7-9.5 cm, and has a large compound eye and 8 retractable wrists on the head, that is, tentacles. Each tentacle has two rows of meaty suction cups. Octopuses vary greatly in length of their tentacles, ranging from 12 to 50 cm. The base of the wrist is connected to a web-like tissue called a skirt, which has an opening in the center. The mouth has a pair of sharp palates and a file-like tooth tongue that is used to drill through the shell and scrape its flesh.
So far, the world's largest octopus is the Pacific Giant Octopus, which has a circumference of 9.1 meters and weighs 544 pounds. What is this concept? It's the equivalent of 9 adults holding hands in a circle to surround it! This octopus even attacks and devours sharks, as well as birds. Sure enough, big is to do whatever you want. They spread across the waters of the Pacific Ocean at different temperatures, from South Canada to Alaska, from the western Aleutian Islands to Japan.
Inhabiting caves or crevices on the rocky seabed, it prefers to hide and is one of the most homeless species in the marine life. It is precisely because octopuses do not like to show their faces, they are addicted to all kinds of utensils, eager to hide in hollow vessels. The octopus not only loves to drill bottles and cans, but every container, it loves to burrow into and shelter. A large bottle with a volume of 9 liters and a diameter of less than 5 centimeters was found in the English Channel, and an octopus more than 30 centimeters thick was found inside; in the cargo compartment of an ancient Greek shipwreck found not far from Marseille, France, it was filled with amphora and large water tanks for noodles, and almost every one of them contained an octopus. The collapse of the 3-story ship provided thousands of good homes for the octopus. For more than 2,000 years, octopuses have lived in such shipwrecks for generations. After the crashed plane sank to the bottom of the sea, the gasoline tank also provided shelter for the clever octopus. Even the skulls of people fished out of the Mediterranean harbor an octopus.
Highly developed nervous system
In addition to their physical characteristics, octopuses are also considered to have the highest intelligence among invertebrates.
The octopus has 2 memory systems, 500 million neurons, 1 central brain, and each of its tentacles has a unique network of small "brains" that coordinate incredibly 8 tentacles and hundreds of sensitive suction cups. 40% of the octopus's neurons are concentrated in the main brain, and the rest is distributed in the brachiopods. After issuing the "attack" command, the brachiopods will make their own decisions on where to go hunting – much higher than humans who can only knee-jerk reflexes.....
Comparison of neuronal numbers in different animals (in millions, from left to right, sea slugs, rats, octopus and humans)
Gifted with the ability to disguise
In addition to being a neuronal "big household", octopus also has highly developed pigment-containing cells, each of which contains one of four natural pigments: yellow, red, brown or melanin. These pigments can only be seen if the pigment cells contract. Octopuses can change their color by shrinking only one type of pigment cell at a time. It can also dodge predators in camouflage, and can also catch prey by taking on the same color as clear water, sandy seabeds, or black rock crevices. When an enemy is approaching, the octopus will turn dark pink, release a cloud of black ink from the ink sac, called sepia, and then fade in color and quickly flee.
Octopus: If you can find me, count me out
Mark Norman of the University of Melbourne, Australia, discovered in 1998 an octopus in the estuarine waters near the Indonesian island of Sulawesi that can quickly mimic poisonous creatures such as sea snakes, lionfish and jellyfish to avoid attack. In addition to self-preservation, the octopus's ability to change color will also come in handy when hunting. Waiting quietly, waiting for an opportunity, suddenly pounced on the prey, and the prey had no time to realize what was happening. These body artists can instantly blend into the background, only appearing in their original form when threatening an opponent or attracting a spouse.
Mysteriously, however, no one knows where their intelligence comes from. Some scientists have even speculated that this superior intelligence may be related to the parent star they inhabit. Implicitly, octopuses may be exotic creatures. After a series of scientific studies, some scientists even ventured to speculate that if octopuses lived on Earth long enough, they would develop ultra-high IQs that humans could not imagine, thus replacing humans to rule the earth. Of course, this sounds like a fantasy. Scientists have never stopped exploring octopuses, believing that one day humans will unlock the octopus's "wisdom code".
Before that, let our descendants simply enjoy its delicacies!
Finally, I would like to introduce you to a small fresh meat handle of the octopus session - peach blossom chapter!
In terms of freshness, the fishermen by the sea are recognized as the first place! Peach Blossom Chapter, also known as Peach Blossom Slug, is a short-legged small octopus that can only be caught in the Yellow Bohai Sea region in April and May every year. The short growth cycle and the failure to eat in the winter, the taste is particularly sweet and clear, fresh and tender. Due to the short harvest time and limited quantity, the peach blossom chapter is the rarest treasure among octopuses, and even fishermen on the sea are reluctant to eat it. In contrast, there is also a kind called plum blossom chapter, which generally grows in the colder seas north of the Yangtze River. Harvested in October and November every year, when the small octopus has been fully grown and exercised in the seawater, and has stored the fat for the winter, which is quite fat, it is a good tonic for autumn and winter. Many people are not familiar with peach blossom chapters and plum blossom chapters, but once they have tasted them, they will not forget their tenderness and fatness. Such a taste of the world, missed regret for a lifetime! Go and taste it!