ETYM New Lat. Related to Octopod.
(Irregular plural: octopuses, or: octopi).
1. Bottom-living cephalopod having a soft oval body with eight long tentacles; SYN. devilfish.
2. Tentacles of octopus prepared as food.
Any of an order (Octopoda) of cephalopods, genus Octopus, having a round or oval body and eight arms with rows of suckers on each. They occur in all temperate and tropical seas, where they feed on crabs and other small animals.
Octopuses can vary their coloration according to their background and can swim using their arms as well as by a type of jet propulsion by means of their funnel. They are as intelligent as some vertebrates and not easily stimulated to aggression. Octopuses are shy creatures that release clouds of ink when frightened.
The common octopus o. vulgaris may reach 2 m/6 ft, and the rare, deep-sea giant octopus o. apollyon may span more than 10 m/32 ft. There are a few species of Australian blue-ringed octopods, genus Hapalochlaena; they can kill a human being in 15 minutes as a result of their venomous bite. + prikaži više