It may be record setting cold in Nebraska, but in the Caribbean it’s SCUBA diving season, and that means it is the time to look for one of my favorite animals; the octopi (plural for octopus). Octopi are interesting, harmless and fun to watch. Yes, there are a couple of species of octopi whose venom is so toxic it can kill you, but they don’t attack and the only way to get bitten is by handling them.

Octopi are smart. A number of octopus researchers have shared stories of the problem-solving abilities of the eight-armed cephalopods. One tale is of a researcher who was studying some fish and had them in a large aquarium in the lab. He noticed that some fish were missing. The next day, more fish were missing.

Thinking that one of his colleagues was playing a trick on him he turned the lights of the lab off and waited hoping to catch the prankster. Much to his surprise an octopus in an aquarium on the other side of the lab crawled out of his aquarium, across the floor, up the lab table, and into the aquarium holding the fish. Once there the octopus ate a couple of fish and then made its way back across the lab to his “home”.

It shouldn’t be surprising that octopi are smart.

They have nine brains! They have a central brain that functions much like our cerebrum in directing gross motor movements like attacking prey or defending itself. The main brain also interprets sensory input, houses an extensive and complicated memory and octopi have an intelligence that is comparable to that of the smartest dogs. The other eight brains are smaller ones located at the base of each arm. These nerve centers function much like our cerebellum. Our cerebellum takes orders from the cerebrum and then coordinates all the muscles needed to carry out that function. The cerebellum can also “learn” repeated muscle movements (muscle memory) and can react to stimuli without consulting the cerebrum.

The smaller brains of the octopus do the same with each arm independent of the others. This makes the octopus amazingly agile and quick. Without having to deal with all that muscle control, the central brain is free to be smart.

An octopus can recognize individuals and they are intensely curious. One scientist in Europe made friends with an octopus. He would dive every day in the same place, and he noticed the den of a small octopus. He would return each day and soon the octopus was coming out to meet him. The octopus would extend one of her arms and he would “fist bump” her. He did this for the entire year of her life, documenting the experience. Once she laid eggs, she spent all of her time protecting the eggs and not eating. By the time the eggs hatched she was so weak and emaciated that she just floated up and was soon attacked and eaten by a fish. A sad, sad day for the researcher!

They are called cephalopods, which translates as ‘head foot” because the base of the legs form a ring around the mouth. Inside the ring is the beak of the octopus and it can inflict a painful bite. Inside the mouth is the radula, a tongue-like structure that is covered with teeth. Like a rasp the octopus will run the radula back and forth over its prey breaking off pieces, which are then swallowed. The saliva of all octopi is venomous, but like spiders, some octopi are more venomous than others. The venom of the blueringed octopus of Australia contains tetrodotoxin, which is a powerful neurotoxin. If this very colorful little octopus bites you, it will paralyze your diaphragm and you can’t breathe. It affects you so quickly you may not even make it back to the surface.

Octopi are also camouflage experts able to change colors to match their background. In the movie “Finding Dora” one of the animal characters is Hank, a mimic octopus who has an amazing ability to match his background. The movie is not that far “off”. Mimic octopi can change their appearance in amazing ways, maybe not as quickly as in the movie, but they do so well enough that a diver can swim right over them and not see them.