Blue Ringed Octopus

By Anya Terplan
The blue ringed octopus is a very poisonous octopus that is only found in Australia, Japan, and in tide pools and coral reefs in the Pacific and Indian Ocean. If you get bit by one you usually won’t feel its bite, so by the time you find out you got bit it’ll be too late (I’m not trying to scare you or anything). Its venom (tetrodotoxin) is in its saliva and can be used for defense and to kill prey. Usually you die from the bite but in some rare cases you can become paralysed from the bite. 4-6 minutes after the octopus has bit you, your brain starts shutting down. No worries, it won’t bite you unless you’re disturbing it in some way!

According to the article, ‘The Blue-Ringed Octopus: Small but Deadly’, the octopus uses its venom mainly for catching food. It eats crabs, shrimp, and other small fish. Once the prey is paralysed, it uses its beak to tear its dinner apart. They only hunt during the day because they are not nocturnal.

Fun Facts 

• One of the most venomous animals in the ocean
• They’re only 8-10 inches big, females are larger than males
• Lives about 1-2 years
• Immune to its own venom 
• They can bite through a wetsuit
• Its scientific name is Hapalochlaena

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Sources Used

• https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2017/03/13/the-blue-ringed-octopus-small-but-deadly/
• https://www.thoughtco.com/blue-ringed-octopus-facts-4173401
• https://marinebio.org/species/blue-ringed-octopuses/hapalochlaena-maculosa/
• https://passportocean.com/2019/05/08/blue-ringed-octopus-facts/