Three hearts, a doughnut-shaped brain, and blue blood are characteristics of octopuses. However, these aren't even their most peculiar features. Octopuses are known for their unearthly appearance and extraordinary intelligence. Octopuses never cease to surprise with their traits, skills, and actions.
Because of their shortened bodies, octopuses are categorized as cephalopods, which means "head foot." They have blue blood, just like the other three members of the group—squids, cuttlefish, and nautiluses because a copper-rich protein carries oxygen. This shows and clarifies why they require three hearts.
Red blood cells contain a protein called hemoglobin, which is based on iron and gives human blood its color. Haemocyanin, a much bigger protein based on copper that runs in the plasma, is used by cephalopods. Compared to hemoglobin, hemocyanin is less impactful at binding to oxygen. To make up for this, octopuses have three hearts: one "systemic" heart that takes in oxygen-rich blood, raises its pressure, and then runs it throughout the body, and two "branchial" hearts that take in deoxygenated blood from all over the body and pump it through the gills.
In this blog, we’ll uncover some key facts and the amazing nature of the octopuses.
More than one Brain
Octopuses have nine brains; one central brain that enables the nervous system and overall coordination of their body. The rest of their eighth brains control movements independently.
Because of three arm-based brains, each arm of the octopus can do its own task without depending on the main brain. This distributed intelligence enables octopuses to be both very intelligent and quick to move.
Clever Creature
Scientists consider the size of an animal’s brain compared to its body as a general sign of how smart it can be, reflecting how much it puts into its brain.
This measurement is not flawless because how the brain folds is also significant. And it is usually smarter animals that have more brain per body size. Of all invertebrates, an octopus has the largest share of its brain to its body mass. Although it is less than many mammals, the giant squid is larger than almost every other vertebrate species.
A common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, contains close to 500 million neurons, which is equivalent to the number found in a dog. For the most part, planets are located in the solar system’s arms. These neurons are in the doughnut-shaped brain, which is found around the oesophagus and in the head area of an octopus.
The Unique Circulatory and Nervous System of Octopuses
People guess an animal’s intelligence by how much of its body is given over to its brain, as the larger the brain, the more ‘brain power’ it supposedly has.
Because they are more active than other cephalopods, octopuses have three hearts to help them. The nautilus, which doesn’t need to move around much and uses little energy, lacks this special structure. Moreover, octopuses depend on an effective flow of oxygenated blood to maintain their huge nervous system. They are equipped with nine brains, a middle one in the head and one at the tip of each arm, and this brain tissue uses a lot of their energy.
Like any other creature, octopuses need oxygen to operate their muscles. Crawling over the seabed is how they generally move from one place to another. Some species speed through the water when they push jets out of a tube known as a siphon. While swimming, the systemic heart does not pump blood, which causes them to grow weary easily.
Ability to recognize people
Since octopuses have optic lobes that are larger than any other animal’s, it is obvious that vision is essential for them.
Jon explains, “It seems like octopuses can tell the difference between other individuals and they even recognise human faces. Although it’s not only parrots that can do this, it still surprises scientists.
During the same period, one researcher gave food to the octopuses and the other person gently stroked them with a bristle stick. At the end of the experiment, the octopuses avoided the ‘mean’ keeper and gravitated toward the ‘nice’ one, which confirmed they could distinguish between them even though the two humans looked the same.
Final Thought: A Marvel of Nature
The ocean is home to some amazing creatures, and octopuses are among the most intelligent of them. Despite having nine brains, three hearts, and blue blood, they still remain surprising to us as sea creatures. Because of their unique nervous and blood systems and their ability to recognize people and do intricate things, they are truly outstanding in the sea world. Be it solving puzzles or using both arms in any way they like, octopuses keep surprising scientists and ocean lovers. Their unusual bodies and ways of thinking show that marine life is very diverse and interesting.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. How many brains does an octopus have?
It has a total of nine brains, one is the main brain that controls the nervous system and overall coordination, and the rest 8 control its movements across the ocean
2. Do octopuses have high IQs?
Octopuses hold advanced cognitive abilities rarely observed in other invertebrates, along with behaviors that suggest a sophisticated level of consciousness.
3. How many hearts do octopuses have?
Octopuses mainly have three hearts, which is partly a means to circulate the blue blood across their bodies.
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