Range: Pacific Ocean Habitat: Ocean floor in shallow waters Size: 5-8 inches (12-20cm) long Diet: Crustaceans and fish Threats: Habitat loss and humans Life span: Unknown

Transcript:

Hello you and welcome to this fact file! Today we’re going to be looking at the blue-ringed octopus.

You’ve probably heard of it: super deadly, could probably kill you just by looking at you, beautiful bright blue rings of death, the deadliest things ever. While those statements are exaggerations, they are based in truth. Here’s a fact you can tell all those kids at school just to prove how super rad you are: the blue ring octopus is more venomous than any terrestrial animal. I even gave you a big word for science! Terrestrial or land-dwelling. ...don’t worry, you’ll never be as big of a nerd as Chester.

There are actually ten species of blue-ringed octopuses, and they live in shallow water of the Pacific ocean primarily as bottom dwellers. They can be found along the coasts of Australia, Japan, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Although that may sounds like a broad area, because they only live in shallow, temperate waters their habitat range is rather small. They are non-aggressive, in opposition to their stigma, and are usually found hiding in crevices, empty seashells and even refuse bottles and cans. If you were aware of their existence before stumbling into this episode, you may be surprised to learn that they are extremely small. A blue-ringed octopus will only grow to a few inches in length - and that’s including their legs! Most of them are about the size of a golf ball once they reach adulthood.

Blue-ringed octopuses eat crustaceans and the occasional small fish. They hunt by enveloping their prey, disallowing them to escape, and puncturing a small hole into their shell. They basically drool their toxic saliva into the hole and this paralyses the prey. Blue-ringed octopuses actually have two different sets of toxins, one used for feeding, as I just described, and another used for defense. The toxin released for defense is the super scary deadly one to us. The venom itself is actually made via a symbiotic relationship between the octopus and bacteria in its mouth. Adult blue-ringed octopuses lack the ability to ink as a means of defense so they just have their venom on which to rely. Well, that and those crazy blue rings.

A blue-ringed octopus will only display its rings when threatened, otherwise, they are invisible. They use these as a sign to ward off potential predators as if saying, “Hey, I could probably kill you,” and they can flash these rings in a third of a second. The reason they can perform this action so fast is because when the rings are not visible, they are actually simply being hidden under folds of the octopus’s skin. When an octopus wants to reveal its rings, it need only uncover them.

Although it has not been determined how long young octopuses live before maturation, once they have matured and are ready to mate their fate has basically been sealed as the mating process kills both parents involved. Female blue-ringed octopuses will remain with her eggs protecting them until they hatch. This can last anywhere from a month to a few months depending on the species. During this time the female blue-ringed octopus will not eat. Shortly after her babies have hatched, she will die. This is common of most octopus species. The lifespan of a blue-ringed octopus is a short one. Which is what makes this next point all the more confusing.

Blue-ringed octopuses are actually kept as pets. Yes, even though they live extremely short lives, and, yes, even though they are highly deadly, they are kept, by some, as pets. It’s been theorized that this trade is actually hurting blue-ringed octopus populations. Although we do not currently have statistics on the population of this animal, due to habitat destruction and the pet trade it’s been guessed that their numbers are on the decline. As pets, many blue-ringed octopuses either don’t survive shipping or perish after only a few weeks to a few days after arrival. Plus, they really can kill you and there is currently no known antidote to their bite. Just an FYI for any exotic enthusiasts out there. Always be sure to check your supplier and know what you’re getting into when you’re thinking about bringing deadly animals into your home!

On a lighter note, as deadly as they are and as hype as their stigma may be, there have been only three confirmed deaths in the past century by blue-ringed octopuses. Still, three is three too many in my mind and it’s always best to be cautious while in the habitat range of these tiny cephalopods.

For more information on the blue-ringed octopus, feel free to browse through my citations in the description below. Let me know which animal you’d like to see next in the comment. Thank you for watching and please like and subscribe for more Animal Fact Files!