Hello readers, it's me, Giant Pacific Octopus. I don't mind being out of the water for a few hours, so I thought I would tell you a little more about myself.
All About Me
I hatched Enteroctopus dofleini, a rice-sized youth in the North Pacific. Humans soon recognized my star potential and brought me to the aquarium to be a celebrity, where I go by my stage name, Giant Pacific Octopus. It's just as well, since my mother, my father, and most of my 57,000 siblings had already passed away. Which is really okay; I'm more of a solitary creature.
Honestly, I've always felt a little like an outsider, anyway. While many in my phylum, mollusca, slug around, clam up, or act like mussel heads, we cephalopods have a little more class. Especially giant Pacific octopuses (that's right, I said octopuses), arguably the largest octopuses in the world. That's why humans pay us homage in their classical artwork:
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| Totally historically accurate |
I myself only weigh around 30 pounds, but I had an uncle who had an arm span of 25 feet and ate sharks for dinner.
Living in the aquarium, I generally have it pretty good. I've never had to autotomy an arm, so my bilateral symmetry remains perfect, and I only inked once. (I thought I saw a predator of mine, a seal! Fortunately it was just this guy.) It's pretty easy for me to get in and out of my tank since I can fit through any size opening, as long as my beak can get through. Boy am I glad I don't have a skeleton; those things seem really restrictive.
Also, the food here is great. The tanks near me have all kinds of fish and crustaceans. I'm not really a picky eater, I just like variety. I'll suction cup just about anything to see if I like the taste.
I get along great with the humans. They have really weak hands, so they are always asking me to open jars for them.
Sometimes it does seem like my arms have a mind of their own; fortunately I have excellent, polarized eyesight and can watch them and make sure they're doing what I intended. Like all octopuses, I am venomous, and I don't mean my personality! But I don't often feel the need to bite anybody, except my dinner.
So overall, life is grand. Every once in a while I feel a little red and translucent, but most days I feel opaque and reflective. I hope you have enjoyed me pouring my hearts out (all three of them)!
Still Curious? Learn more
If you are interested in learning more about other octopuses from some humans they're friends with, check out this excellent article:
Here are some other great octopus resources:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus
- http://web.archive.org/web/20080102230427/http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Support/AdoptSpecies/AnimalInfo/GiantOctopus/default.cfm
- http://www.thecephalopodpage.org
Any chance you knew Paul, the World-Cup-Match-Picking octopus? Is that skill cephalopod-specific?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I never got a chance to meet Paul, arguably the most famous of all octopuses (rivaled, of course, by Henry the Hexapus: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_the_Hexapus).
DeleteThere are, however, other creatures with the skills of divination, such as Paul's arch nemesis, Mani the parakeet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mani_the_Parakeet.
I always thought that the plural was octopi. I don't mean to question you on your own species' plurality, but are you sure? (So I guess I do mean to question you.) Also, how do you type when your all suctiony?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your question! Pluralizing "octopus" as "octopi" is a common mistake that has become somewhat acceptable in English. However, this is from a mistaken assumption that "octopus" has a Latin root. In actuality, it is a Greek word that would traditionally be pluralized as "octopodes," but the most accepted form in English is "octopuses." You can read more about the etymology of the word here:
Deletehttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/octopus#Usage_notes
Frankly, typing with suction cups is a little sucky, but I'm getting better at it. It helps that I have excellent eyesight. Also, having eight legs doesn't hurt, either!