Knowra Octopus Octopus An octopus is a soft-bodied marine mollusk with eight sucker-covered arms, a beak, and no internal shell. Its nervous system, camouflage, and flexible body support complex behavior.
Cephalopod locomotion : Movement strategies used by cephalopods, including jet propulsion, crawling, and swimming. Octopuses combine arm crawling with jet propulsion through a muscular siphon.
Cephalopod : A class of marine mollusks that includes octopuses, squids, cuttlefish, and nautiluses. Octopuses are cephalopods, sharing an enlarged head and arms adapted from the molluscan foot.
Octopus predation : The ways octopuses locate, capture, and consume animal prey. Flexible arms and a beak let octopuses catch and handle prey in tight spaces.
Common octopus : A widespread octopus species, Octopus vulgaris, found in warm and temperate seas. This familiar species anchors much of the research on octopus behavior and physiology.
Siphon (mollusk) : A tubular structure that directs water out of a mollusk's mantle cavity. An octopus expels water through its siphon to generate jet propulsion and steer.
Mollusca : A large animal phylum that includes snails, clams, chitons, and cephalopods. The octopus body plan is a highly modified form of molluscan anatomy.
Octopus defense : Behaviors and structures octopuses use to avoid or deter predators. Camouflage, ink, escape, and arm autonomy help octopuses survive attacks.
Giant Pacific octopus : A large octopus species, Enteroctopus dofleini, native to the North Pacific. Its size and long-term care in aquariums make it a prominent example of octopus biology.
Octopus nervous system : The distributed nervous system of octopuses, with a central brain and extensive neural networks in the arms. Arm-level neural circuits let each arm perform complex actions with limited central control.
Mantle (mollusk) : A tissue layer in mollusks that covers the visceral mass and often forms a mantle cavity. The octopus mantle houses organs and pumps water through the cavity for breathing and jetting.
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