The Blue Ringed Octopus (BRO)

The only animal on the planet that doesn’t make its own venom. The Blue-Ringed Octopus (BRO) or Hapalochlaena maculosa lives in tide pools and coral reefs. They can often be found in the south coast of Australia, from Western Australia to eastern Victoria. Over time natural selection picked the BROs that is the color closest to the color of their environment. This helps the octopi blend in with their environment and become harder to see. When relaxed the BRO is light beige, blending in with the environment, but it can change color to better fit its environment (Brandon Saavedra, The Blue Ringed Octopus, blue ringed octopus). This unique animal is also one the most venomous animals in the world. If the BRO feels threatened, its skin will expand …show more content…
It then results to two types of defence. It will bite the threat and through the saliva it contains the toxin tetrodotoxin. For consumption purposes, it will release the toxin through its skin. The tetrodotoxin blocks sodium ions from getting where they need to be, which in most cases are muscles. This paralyzes the organism’s diaphragm. This results in suffocation. One small BRO can cause the diaphragms in ten men to become paralyzed (Megan Cartwright, What It’s Like to Nearly Die From the Venom of a Blue-Ringed Octopus, Wild Things). Over time the size of the organism’s ink sac has shrunk as a result of them using their poison far more often (Greater Blue-ringed Octopus, Aquarium of the Pacific). Like the birds that darwin once used the octopi have developed a beak to break through organisms with shells. The BRO is a carnivore mostly eating crabs, other crustaceans and small fish (Greater Blue-ringed Octopus, Aquarium of the …show more content…
There could also be other deaths due to uninformed tourists or just people who haven’t heard of the octopi before. Even a professor in invertebrate behavior and ecology almost had a dangerous encounter himself (Dr. Roy Caldwell, Death in a Pretty Package: The Blue-Ringed Octopuses, The Cephalopod Page). The extreme long term effect could be that there is a genetic drift and their DNA is now in octopi in the western hemisphere as well, and no one will be aware of this and its threats. Although this is taken in extreme, this evolution could happen faster than most think. An opposite extreme could be that prey around the BROs are evolving to be immune to the toxin. This could be detrimental for the food source if it were to be immune. The Blue Ringed Octopus is one of the most venomous organisms in the world. These creatures need to be taught about along with lionfish, pufferfish, sea urchins, and other dangerous organisms. There is no antidote to the toxin and without immediate medical attention there is a high chance of death. These killer cuties will be around for a while, so they should be publicised and taught about to