Page 128 - (DK) Super Shark Encyclopedia: And Other Creatures of the Deep

Mantle, or fleshy cloak, contains vital organs

Well-developed eyes for good underwater vision Getting around An octopus uses eight muscular arms for walking on the bottom of the sea. But for a really fast getaway it uses jet propulsion by shooting a jet of water from a fleshy funnel.

MOST DEVOTED MOTHER

up to two months of that can be taken up with raising a huge family. An octopus
from rocks. She gives up hunting to concentrate on looking after her brood and
mother produces around a quarter of a million eggs, which she hangs in strings
protecting them from predators. By the time they hatch she is usually so weak
It’s a short life for an octopus—sometimes not much more than a year—but

Head contains big brain

COMMON OCTOPUS

BITING BEAK The beak is the only hard part of an octopus’s body. It lies in the center

from starvation that she dies. of the body and is strong enough to crunch up most prey, including tough-shelled crabs and lobsters. AT A GLANCE • SIZE 5–9¾ ft (1.5–3 m) tentacle span • HABITAT Rocky coastal waters • LOCATION Atlantic, Indian, and west Pacific Oceans; Mediterranean Sea • DIET Crabs, crayfish, cockles, and other shelled animals