Table of Contents Pages
Introduction
Appearance and Characteristics
Habitat
Poison
Importance to Humans
Locomotion
Diet and Enemies
Reproduction
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction: Page 1
The blue-ringed octopus is one of the ocean’s most fascinating octopuses. There are four different types of blue-ringed octopuses confirmed. Instead of being divided by their sizes, they are divided and named by the distinctive patterns and amount of rings on their bodies. The four confirmed species are the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (found only in Australia), the greater blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena lunulata, the blue-lined octopus, Hapalochlaena fasciata, …show more content…
Scientists are interested in researching their poison, tetrodotoxin, as a role in medical usage, such as, irregular heartbeats, and terminal cancer (cancers that can’t be cured). Equally important, the blue-ringed octopus is a great contributor to research on how the nerve cells work because tetrodotoxin blocks out nerve cell communication. Besides medical research, one of the reason why people choose to buy them as an exotic pet to keep in their home aquarium is because they lack an ink sac unlike other octopuses. Even naturalists and underwater photographers love to look and photograph them underwater.
Locomotion: There are several ways that the blue-ringed octopus travels. Using their arms, the blue-ringed octopus can crawl along the ocean floor, and sometimes walk on land. However, the fastest way to move around is to draw water into a cavity in their body and expel the water forcibly. This action is called jet propulsion. It moves the octopus swiftly backwards through the water. That is why they swim head first with their arms trailing behind. Sometimes they travel flashing bright neon blue rings for two reasons, one as warning to tell other predictors to swim by and two, they are chasing their
Introduction
Appearance and Characteristics
Habitat
Poison
Importance to Humans
Locomotion
Diet and Enemies
Reproduction
Conclusion
Bibliography
Introduction: Page 1
The blue-ringed octopus is one of the ocean’s most fascinating octopuses. There are four different types of blue-ringed octopuses confirmed. Instead of being divided by their sizes, they are divided and named by the distinctive patterns and amount of rings on their bodies. The four confirmed species are the southern blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (found only in Australia), the greater blue-ringed octopus, Hapalochlaena lunulata, the blue-lined octopus, Hapalochlaena fasciata, …show more content…
Scientists are interested in researching their poison, tetrodotoxin, as a role in medical usage, such as, irregular heartbeats, and terminal cancer (cancers that can’t be cured). Equally important, the blue-ringed octopus is a great contributor to research on how the nerve cells work because tetrodotoxin blocks out nerve cell communication. Besides medical research, one of the reason why people choose to buy them as an exotic pet to keep in their home aquarium is because they lack an ink sac unlike other octopuses. Even naturalists and underwater photographers love to look and photograph them underwater.
Locomotion: There are several ways that the blue-ringed octopus travels. Using their arms, the blue-ringed octopus can crawl along the ocean floor, and sometimes walk on land. However, the fastest way to move around is to draw water into a cavity in their body and expel the water forcibly. This action is called jet propulsion. It moves the octopus swiftly backwards through the water. That is why they swim head first with their arms trailing behind. Sometimes they travel flashing bright neon blue rings for two reasons, one as warning to tell other predictors to swim by and two, they are chasing their