7 Extraordinary and Fascinating Octopuses

Octopuses are truly remarkable creatures: They can slip through openings far smaller than their own size, alter their look in an instant, and are regarded as the most clever of all invertebrates. Within the octopus family octopoda, several species are particularly intriguing. From the charming to the downright frightening, these octopuses are all incredibly remarkable.

1. BLANKET OCTOPUS

Blanket octopuses reign as the style icons of the deep sea. Female blanket octopuses feature delicate, transparent webs linking their arms, and when they swim, the flesh ripples like an ethereal gown trailing behind them. The 'blanket' proves useful for warding off threats; by expanding their arms along with the webbing, they create a larger, more intimidating silhouette, akin to Dracula unveiling his cape. But their stunning appearance isn’t their only strength. When under threat, they can shed their arms, and they have the unique ability to tear off the venomous tentacles of Portuguese Man O' Wars and wield them as weapons. Males, however, are far less impressive: Measuring under an inch in length, they weigh 10,000 to 40,000 times less than the massive 6-foot-long females.

2. GHOST OCTOPUS

The 'ghost octopus' is the most recent species to join this list. Distinguished by its pale, translucent skin, it was first discovered by NOAA researchers off the coast of Hawaii in 2016. Still so new to science that it hasn't received an official name, we do know it prefers the deep, dark ocean floor and makes some rather extreme parenting decisions. After securing its clutch of eggs to a dead sponge and enveloping it with its body, this cephalopod will go without feeding for years, ultimately sacrificing itself to ensure its young are safely brought into the world.

3. MIMIC OCTOPUS

Many octopuses are exceptional at camouflaging themselves, but the mimic octopus takes disguise to another level. Not only can it alter the texture of its skin, but it can also contort its body to imitate other marine creatures. To impersonate a sea snake, it hides six of its arms and extends the other two; to mimic a lionfish, it arranges its limbs to resemble long spines. It can even imitate a banded sole, and perhaps anemones and jellyfish. The common thread among all the creatures the mimic octopus copies is that they’re toxic, and by pretending to be one of them, it cleverly avoids becoming prey.

4. STAR-SUCKER PYGMY OCTOPUS

The star-sucker pygmy octopus, also known as Octopus wolfi, is just as adorable as its name implies. Found in shallow waters of the Pacific Ocean, it's incredibly hard to spot. As the tiniest known octopus species, it grows to just under an inch in length and weighs less than a gram.

5. DUMBO OCTOPUS

Dumbo octopuses belong to their own delightful genus: Grimpoteuthis. Their limbs are connected by an umbrella-like web instead of being long and separate, and they use two ear-like fins on either side of their heads to flap through the water—giving them their whimsical nickname. Typically found in deep ocean waters, these octopuses were difficult to study until recently, when scientists discovered that Dumbo octopuses have two flappable 'wings' right from the moment they hatch from their eggs.

6. COCONUT OCTOPUS

The coconut octopus uses a simple yet effective method to camouflage itself. After acquiring coconut halves (or shells, as shown in the video above), it carries them around and wraps the makeshift shelter around its flexible body whenever it faces a threat. The coconut proves so crucial to its survival that the octopus will awkwardly walk across the seafloor to drag husks larger than its own body, despite the fact that swimming would be much quicker.

7. BLUE-RINGED OCTOPUS

The blue-ringed octopus is as stunning as it is perilous. Its vibrant, electric-blue rings serve as a clear warning of its venomous bite, and while all octopuses carry toxins, this species is the only one capable of killing a human. A single bite can cause paralysis that may be fatal; there’s enough tetrodotoxin in its system to suffocate 10 men. Scientists believe that these toxins are not produced by the octopus itself, but rather by microbes inhabiting its salivary glands.