Octopus

References

Images & Videos

An octopus with outstretched tentacles swims underwater near rising air bubbles, illuminated by sunlight from above.

A blue-ringed octopus with bright blue rings on its beige body crawls over a rocky, coral-strewn seabed.

blue-ringed octopus

A Dumbo octopus (Grimpoteuthis species) with ear-like fins and curled arms swims in dark ocean water in the Gulf of Mexico.

Octopus granulatus, a South African species.

Octopus

mollusk genus

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cephalopod
Reproduction and life cycles
The hectocotylized arm of Octopus bears a deep groove on one side, ending in a spoonlike terminal organ. In Argonauta and Tremoctopus the arm is highly modified and in mating is autotomized (self-amputated) and left within the mantle cavity of the female. In the squids a much larger section…
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The hectocotylized arm of Octopus bears a deep groove on one side, ending in a spoonlike terminal organ. In Argonauta and Tremoctopus the arm is highly modified and in mating is autotomized (self-amputated) and left within the mantle cavity of the female. In the squids a much larger section…
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cephalopod
Ecology
…restrictions in their distribution, but Octopus vulgaris and O. macropus, both species with planktonic larvae, have gained worldwide distribution. In general, the pelagic and planktonic cephalopods conform in their distribution to other pelagic animals.
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…restrictions in their distribution, but Octopus vulgaris and O. macropus, both species with planktonic larvae, have gained worldwide distribution. In general, the pelagic and planktonic cephalopods conform in their distribution to other pelagic animals.
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octopus
…are members of the genus Octopus, a large group of widely distributed shallow-water cephalopods. (See cephalopod.)
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…are members of the genus Octopus, a large group of widely distributed shallow-water cephalopods. (See cephalopod.)
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