June 14, 2025

Athens News

News in English from Greece

Octopus: 3 hearts and blue blood


Octopuses are one of the most mysterious and smart inhabitants of the ocean that can survive in extreme conditions.

These invertebrates have an incredibly developed nervous system with about 500 million neurons. Moreover, a significant part of them is located not only in the brain, but also in tentacles, which allows octopuses to act almost autonomously with each limb.

Intelligence worthy of admiration

The octopuses have repeatedly demonstrated outstanding abilities for training and solving problems. In the wild, for example, they were noticed after they collected halves of coconuts and used them as a shelter, folding like a sink. And in captivity, these creatures easily open containers, solve puzzles and even, as you know, participated in the “predictions” of the results of football matches, tells Bb.lv.

Blue blood secret

One of the unique biological features of octopuses is the blue color of their blood. This is due to the presence of hemocial protein, which performs the same function as human hemoglobin – oxygen transportation. But unlike hemoglobin containing iron, hemocyanin contains copper. It is copper that gives the blood of an octopus a characteristic blue hue.

Hemocyanin – the key to survival

Hemsky is extremely effective in conditions where the oxygen content in water is low, and the temperature may change. Osminovs have three hearts, and all of them require stable oxygen intake. Thanks to hemocyanin, they can survive in the most severe corners of the seabed, where other organisms would not have coped.

Adaptation without migration

Octopuses do not make long -term movements and prefer to remain within the limited territory. To survive in various, sometimes extreme conditions, they had to develop high physiological adaptability. Blue blood is one of the main advantages that allows these animals to successfully live in various marine ecosystems.



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