Huge octopuses. The largest octopuses in the world

In order to meet amazing aliens from other worlds who have a certain intelligence and are as different from humans as possible, you do not need to fly into space. They live next to us in the seas and oceans. These creatures - octopuses - are a legacy of ancient centuries, images of huge octopuses, monsters from depths of the sea people have always feared. They have long been attributed demonic glory and power, as if they were able to sink a ship or approach a diver with the insidious purpose of crushing the victim with their tentacles and holding him until he suffocates.

Mysterious inhabitants of the water world

Modern researchers have long refuted all such legends and fantasies. The truth turned out to be impressive; these animals are endowed with a lot of amazing qualities:

• they are smart and sensitive (millions of neurons in their tentacles give them an unrivaled sense of touch);
• have excellent vision and are able to quickly analyze what they see;
• they have a well-developed nervous system;
• they have three hearts;
• their blood is blue;
• they have eight prehensile, constantly moving tentacle arms with suction cups responsible for touch and balance, which are sometimes used as legs to move along the seabed;
• they communicate through color, while they themselves distinguish only black and white colors;
• move with the help of a jet engine;
• capable of perfect camouflage and camouflage, changing the color of their skin and its texture in a split second.

These bizarre creatures have no skeleton or shell, but only a soft, elastic body that can change shape. Even the largest octopus will be able to squeeze into any gap that does not limit its only solid organ, its beak mouth. This organ is made of keratin, like our nails, and looks like a parrot's beak. An animal weighing 16-18 kg can easily get into a hole with a diameter of 3.5 cm.

These inhabitants of the depths of the sea are terrible and at the same time charming, they carry you into mysterious depths so that a person realizes all their charm and gets to know them better. There are more than 300 species of octopuses in the world, 100 of which have been described, and they come in all shapes, colors and sizes. They can live in almost any habitat, from shallow waters off the coast to deep hydrothermal vents. Large animals are of particular interest. These are the common octopus, Dofleina and Appolion.

There are stories of rare leviathans raised from the depths of the sea, weighing more than 50 kg. Stories about scary giants with tentacles over 10 m in length appeared more than 50 years ago, and some captured specimens giant octopuses weighed more than 180 kg, as much as a black bear weighs. This species has a bad reputation. Above the eyes of the octopus there are two outgrowths resembling horns, for which it was nicknamed “ sea ​​devil" This is Doflein's octopus.

This species of cephalopod is the most studied. Such individuals live in the seas Far East, off the coast of Japan and America. They prefer to live at shallow depths, not descending below 300 m. Animals of this species are capable of reaching a weight of more than 50 kg, although their usual standard weight is 25 kg. There is a known case when an octopus weighing more than 270 kg with a “span” of tentacles of over 9 m was caught.

At birth, Doflein's octopuses are only 6 mm long and weigh 0.003 grams. They double their weight every three months. At the age of two years they reach a weight of 2 kg, then until 32 months they make a leap, sharply increasing to 18 kg. These big octopuses They feed continuously and eat all the food they can find; they can eat their own kind. Such octopuses live only 4 years.

This predator lives in all tropical and subtropical oceans and seas, in shallow waters up to 150 m with rocky bottom areas. Standard body length is 25 cm, weight is up to 10 kg.

The common octopus lives alone, hiding from big fish And marine mammals, camouflaging itself only when it gets out to hunt. Life expectancy is no more than two years.

Apollyon

This view is huge. The octopus can lay claim to the title of giant. But the Apollyon has the only drawback - its low weight when large sizes bodies. The proportions of this species of octopus resemble a non-standard spider: long, fragile and thin legs extend from a small body.

Apollyons live in rocks off the coast of western Canada, Alaska and California. Deep cold waters rich in oxygen provide optimal conditions life for maximum octopus growth.

The modern context of the image of an octopus is the image of a graceful giant, however, it has been noted that over the last 15-20 years, large octopuses weighing 50 kg have become increasingly rare. This may be a genetic trait that gives octopuses a smaller size than they had 50 to 80 years ago. The reasons may be substances polluting the oceans and increased fishing for octopus (crab) food. Or maybe, in a warming world, these sensitive giants simply lay low? Climate change is definitely a threat to the huge octopuses. It is possible that supergiants exist at depths to which humans cannot yet descend using modern equipment.

For many centuries, the minds of sailors were excited by a possible meeting with giant kraken- a monster the size of a small island, which with its tentacles drags unwary ships into depths of the sea. , is there a largest octopus in the world or real prototypes This monster is not distinguished by its impressive dimensions.

Top - 4 largest species of octopuses

Cephalopods are distinguished by their predatory nature, but more often become victims of humans and more large inhabitants ocean, including sperm whales and killer whales. There are about 200 species of octopuses. Most of them are small benthic animals. It is worth looking for giants among the pelagic species that roam the depths of the oceans.

4. The long-tentacled octopus lives in Mediterranean waters. It was first described in 1826. The bright red body of the animal is covered with luminous white spots. Leads night look life, hunting fish and more small octopuses. The octopus does not refuse crustaceans and bivalves. From spring to late summer, the female long-tentacled octopus mates and then lays a single clutch. The octopus guards the future cubs until the appearance of 4 mm fully formed babies. Soon after this, the mother octopus dies from exhaustion. The mantle extends by 15 cm, but the tentacles extend the total length of the octopus's body to 1 m. An adult weighs cephalopod 400 g.

3. The common octopus is the most common species of this order in the world. He lives in the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic Ocean. The brain is well developed. Able to change color depending on the situation, but the usual color is brown. It feeds on plankton, fish, mollusks, and crustaceans. Females take care of the clutch and do not leave the nest for six months, which is necessary for the cubs to develop in the egg. It is of commercial interest to humans and is harvested as a food product. The body length usually reaches 25 cm, and the tentacles - 90 cm. However, there are specimens with limbs up to 130 cm, which gives the total length of the creature about 170 cm.

2. Doflein's Octopus, sometimes called the Giant Octopus, is common in northern coastal waters. Pacific Ocean. It makes a lair on rocky ground: in underwater caves and secluded crevices. The Japanese and Koreans catch them as a game animal. The average representative grows up to 2 - 3 m with a weight of 25 - 50 kg. There is known evidence of the existence of specimens up to 9.6 m in length. It is he who holds the title of the largest cephalopod in the world, according to the 2015 Guinness Book of Records.

1. The seven-armed octopus received such a strange name not at all because it is disabled without one limb. The hectocotylus of this species is folded into a pouch under the right eye. This is the modified eighth tentacle, hidden from view, which the octopus uses to fertilize the female. These creatures grow up to 3.5 m in length and weigh up to 75 kg.

Largest known octopus specimens

Legends about the notorious krakens did not appear only from the impressionability of sailors. Sometimes the ocean waves washed ashore the corpses of monstrous inhabitants of the depths. How large can individual members of the octopus order be?

• In 1945, a specimen up to 8 m long and weighing 180 kg was caught off the coast of the United States.
• One day, a Doflein octopus with 9-meter tentacles and a mass of more than 270 kg was caught in a net.
• A representative of the octopus order, 3.7 m long and almost a meter across, was caught off the coast of Tasmania. In the stomach of the octopus, fishermen found a piece of the T-shirt of the previously missing crayfish catcher Shaw Burke. It is unknown whether the clothing ended up inside the animal by accident or whether it had a tentacle attached to the person's death. This is how the legends about krakens are born.

In the last 20 years, octopuses weighing about 50 kg have been found much less frequently. Perhaps smart creatures decided that large size is not such a profitable evolutionary acquisition. Major representatives Sperm whales and killer whales easily notice them and are caught for human consumption. It is easier for small octopuses to hide in secluded gorges from dangerous predators. The giants of the world of eight-armed mollusks are becoming a thing of the past.

On this moment the largest and heaviest octopus in the world – This is a representative of either seven-armed or doflein. However, in the future they will also be crushed, giving way to other giants of the deep sea. this detachment served as the basis for myths about the legendary kraken- a monster that drags entire ships into the depths of the sea. Jules Verne dedicated an entire scene to him in the immortal “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.” Even if large octopuses no longer get caught in the nets of fishermen and the lenses of divers’ cameras, the legend about them will not cease to live in the minds of dreamers.

The most famous representatives of cephalopods are octopuses. They are quite different unusual appearance– a short and soft body ends in tentacles, nature has not deprived them of them. There are already eight of them. And they all play the role of “hands”, which are interconnected by membranes, and on the surface of which there is one row or more suction cups. There may be about two thousand of them. And each can withstand up to one hundred grams of weight.

Blue blood

This cephalopod breathes through gills, but despite this, the octopus can go without water for quite a long time. Another feature of the animal can be considered the presence of not one, but three hearts at once. One organ drives blue blood throughout the body, and the other two push it through the gills.

Blue-ringed octopuses are found off the western shores of the Pacific Ocean. They are the most dangerous creatures in the world. Their venom is unusually toxic.

Extraordinarily smart

Interesting fact: octopuses are quite smart animals. In terms of their level of development, they can be compared to dogs and cats. These cephalopods are capable of changing their color quite quickly, literally in one second. And this is thanks to skin cells that are filled with the pigment of the most different colors. Special muscles pull the cells, the color pigment begins to spread and occupy a huge area. Therefore, the shade of the body changes.

The smallest octopus is only four centimeters long. But scientists argue about the size of the largest one and still cannot give an exact answer. They say that they once caught a representative of a species of cephalopods whose tentacle span reached 9.6 meters. The giant’s weight was exactly 272 kilograms. However, there is no confirmation of this fact.

The biggest octopus

The giant octopus Doflein is not called giant for nothing. The size of his head is approximately 60 centimeters. The tentacles have a span of more than three meters. Weight Limit the animal is about 60 kilograms. And these are already tested and proven truths.

The Doflein octopus lives in the North Pacific Ocean. The animal prefers quite low temperatures. It is more comfortable for him to live if the water warms up to a maximum of 5-12 degrees above zero. They are given freedom on the surface and at shallow depths. Therefore, the Doflein octopus can often be found by tourists with scuba gear. Moreover, as a rule, schools of giant octopuses are found. And in most cases, the encounter ends in failure for the animal - it is caught and, usually, eaten. And only after that do lovers of exotic dishes wonder why octopus has a rubbery taste. The answer, by the way, is simple - you need to know how to cook it.

And a little more about the habitat; the octopus prefers rocky soils. The animal hides in caves, crevices and among boulders. In summer, the giant octopus lives in all types of soil. Often the cephalopod can be found on the border of sandy and rocky soils, near steep capes. It is almost impossible to stumble upon it in the center of deep bays in pebble and sandy soils. And in open areas, the octopus digs wide holes with its tentacles and uses them as its lair.

As for Doflein's appearance, scientists say it's hard to believe that an octopus has a leak blue blood. It turns out that he is an aristocrat from the depths of the sea, but with a rather original appearance. Nature created it different from others, a sort of bag with tentacles and eyes. The length of the octopus's body from the rear end of the body to the middle of the eyes (this is the standard measurement of the animal) is 60 centimeters. And the total length is about 3-4 meters. The weight of the cephalopod is up to 55 kilograms. The largest specimen, which was measured and entered into the Guinness Book of Records, had the length of the tentacles, excluding the body, exactly 3.5 meters. His weight was 58 kilograms.

Animal with jet engine

On each of the eight tentacles of the giant octopus there are two rows of suckers, 250-300 on each leg. The membrane between the tentacles is not deep, but can stretch greatly, and in this form it is so thin that it is almost transparent. If you manage to film an animal soaring in the water against the sun, you get a very impressive photo. The octopus has a tube at the bottom of its head called the rostrum. This is a kind of jet engine that serves as a means of transportation. Few creatures in the world have such a “device.” To swim, the octopus draws water into the mantle, then contracts the mantle muscles and sharply throws the water out through the funnel. By the way, the octopus swims backwards, the tentacles are behind the body. In aquatic flight, the two outermost tentacles with stretched membranes are used as wings, and the rest serve as the fuselage, as in an airplane. And through the rostrum, at the same time, a “smoke screen” is placed, that is, ink is released, but this is in case of fright.

All about octopuses

But the octopus's mouth is in the center of the ring of paws. And in the mouth there is a beak, which is very similar to the beak of a parrot. However, lower jaw goes a little beyond the top, and not vice versa. Adult giant octopuses have a beak that is usually dark brown, while juveniles are transparent. Therefore, the darkening of the beak is a kind of sign of sexual maturity. The animal's tongue has a horny grater (this is the radula). It has many transverse rows of small denticles - seven in each row. The central row is the sharpest and largest; it acts as a rotary drill. The octopus uses it to drill into crab shells and shells. Usually the color of the animal is red-brown with a mesh pattern on the body and light stains. But the giant cephalopod can instantly change its color from white to dark purple.

As a rule, the octopus makes seasonal migrations in summer and autumn. On the eve of spawning, the animal moves to shallow depths and lives together with its relatives, that is, aggregations. And in the fall, after spawning, octopuses disperse throughout their entire habitat for several days, live outside of concentrations and inhabit rocky soil.