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Octopus

Common Octopus Octopus Vulgaris

Which creature has three hearts, eight arms and a doughnut shaped brain? You guessed it, it’s the octopus!

Octopus are molluscs which means they are from the same phylum (or family) as Slugs and Snails as well as Cuttlefish and Squid. They are well known for being very clever. In fact they are one of the most intelligent invertebrate species (that means animals with no backbone). Generally Octopuses are solitary creatures that hunt at dusk. They eat all manner of things from crabs to crayfish and even other molluscs.

Having no bones makes these cunning predators hard to avoid as they can squeeze into tiny nooks and crannies to get to their dinner. As long as the gap is large enough for their eyeballs, then they can fit! They can also change the colour of their skin to camouflage perfectly with their surroundings, helping them to sneak up on prey as well as hide from predators.

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