Organism Physiology: the Octopus

1283 Words6 Pages
Organism Physiology: The Octopus Cheryl A. Williams BIO/101 April 5, 2012 Dr. Jeff Batten Organism Physiology: The Octopus The cephalopod, better known as the octopus, is a marine animal, which dwells in countless diverse areas of the ocean. Food resources for the octopus consist of a variety of small fish, crabs, mussels, clams, and additional sea creatures. A predatory animal like the octopus adapts to its environment. By doing so, the octopus develops a variety of skills, which help the creature survive. The octopus depends on several of its vital organs to survive, such as the brain, ink sack, and arms. The octopus is an intelligent creature that uses its ink sack as a defense mechanism when being attacked by a predator. The arms are used for capturing food or prey. Throughout this paper, how the octopus evolved and adapted to its environment will be examined. The octopus is a member of the Mollusca family, unlike other members of the Mollusca family, the octopus has a substantially larger brain in contrast to its bodies. Octopi are known to have the largest and most complex brain of any invertebrate. The octopus’ brain rests slightly below the optic canal and entwines itself around the octopus’ throat or esophagus. The octopus’ brain is comprised of 50 to 75 lobes and has approximately half a billion neurons. Approximately two-thirds of the neurons an octopus has are found in the arms, which uniquely have their own nervous systems (Miller, 2009). Scientists and researchers hypothesize that the octopus’ brain signals the arms to perform certain tasks and essentially, the arm(s) determine how the task is accomplished. The octopus has eight arms positioned around its head. The eight arms allow the octopus to move and swim. Octopuses crawl slowly by using its arms to walk head-first through ocean waters with the arms trailing behind. When

More about Organism Physiology: the Octopus

Open Document