Common Octopus

The common octopus is a highly intelligent marine mollusk found in temperate and tropical coastal waters worldwide, particularly common in the Mediterranean Sea and eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it lives on the seafloor among rocks, reefs and sandy or muddy bottoms. It has a soft, boneless body with eight arms lined with powerful suckers, and it is capable of squeezing through remarkably small gaps, changing the color and texture of its skin almost instantly for camouflage or communication, and releasing a cloud of ink to escape predators. Common octopuses are solitary, mostly nocturnal hunters that feed on crabs, mollusks and small fish, using both stealth and considerable problem-solving intelligence documented in numerous studies, including tool use, maze navigation and the ability to open jars to reach food. The species has a short lifespan of only one to two years, typically dying shortly after reproducing, a life history pattern known as semelparity that is common among octopuses despite their behavioral sophistication.