How Many Brains Does An Octopus Have? Astonishing Fun Facts

Humans have found octopuses amusing for a long time, and for a good reason!

These marine creatures have not only eight arms but also an abundance of brains. Does that make them intelligent?

The marine environment is very scary for most creatures preyed upon by larger carnivorous animals. Octopuses are one of the species of marine creatures that can easily be preyed upon. However, the fact that this animal has nine brains and many tentacles acts as a saving grace and has allowed many octopus species to survive over the years.

Researchers have found many science-backed specialties about this animal that can easily be defined as unusual. Understandably, octopuses must act differently in an aquarium versus in their natural habitat. Still, biologists have enough information to confirm that octopuses are very complex, and their anatomy is like none other.

Keep reading to learn more facts about octopuses!

How many hearts does an octopus have?

Most animals in the animal kingdom have one heart. However, in an octopus such as the Octopus vulgaris (the common octopus), three hearts pump blood simultaneously! This unique anatomical feature is tough to find in any other creature.

Like all other animals, octopuses need oxygen to survive. This oxygen is acquired from their marine habitat with the help of gills. Octopuses have two gills, each of which has its own independent heart.

Two of an octopus's three hearts pump blood to each of the gills so that these organs can successfully transfuse oxygen from the water and keep the animal alive. The third heart is responsible for pumping blood to the rest of the body. This means that all of the hearts have their own distinct jobs.

Talking of oxygen and how it is transfused into an octopus's blood, did you know that the giant Pacific octopus has blue blood? This octopus species has a special copper-rich protein called hemocyanin, making the blood blue. This copper-rich protein component also helps the octopus's body to receive oxygen even in the extremely cold oceanic environment.

In essence, one heart circulates blood to the rest of the entire body, while the other heart circulates blood to the gills. Researchers believe that this anatomical feature must have evolved to ensure that the octopus could survive the oceans of the world, just like the nine brains of an octopus.

Why does the octopus have so many brains?

Octopuses have nine brains and a very complex nervous system. If you wonder how these brains work independently, the answer is quite simple. In their natural habitat, octopuses often need their tentacles to be able to function independently. This is made possible by the nine brains.

Octopuses have eight arms or tentacles, each of which has its own brain. Hence, one or more of these eight arms can efficiently work independently and attach themselves to oceanic surfaces such as those of rocks.

The nervous system of octopuses is built so that the ninth brain, which is the central brain, can send information or commands to the eight other brains in the downward direction. This means that while the eight brains have control over their respective arms, the central brain is the ultimate power.

The tentacular brains cannot send commands to the central brain in the upward direction.

This essentially means that the central brain controls the eight arms and the rest of the body as and when required. This abundance of brains in an octopus's body enables the animal to perform some very difficult tasks.

Research has revealed that octopuses can perform a precise movement, which means they can navigate themselves into the smallest cracks and crevices in the wild ocean habitat when required. This was seen through research as octopuses could find their way to hidden food particles through a movement that can only be defined as advanced.

At the same time, the complexity of the nervous system also allows octopuses to change their shape, the texture of their skin and even perform camouflage. Some of these characteristics are also seen in cuttlefish, but no other species has the unusual characteristics and features that octopuses do!

Octopuses also have the ability to squeeze themselves into the tiniest of spaces. This was observed by a scientist who saw an octopus in its deep ocean habitat, squeezed into a broken glass bottle.

Each octopus arm can work on its own, and it is not essential for all of them to work under the same stimulus or command from the brain, which is seen in many animals.

The individual brains also give octopuses the ability to sense where their arm is and what it is doing. Through this advanced ability, most octopus species can find their way out of mazes or navigate themselves through traps and tricks to find food rewards.

As if the texture changing and camouflage-related abilities were not interesting enough, octopuses can also taste and smell things through their suckers. These suckers are located in all of their arms. Each octopus arm has over 200 suckers, which allows the animal to taste, smell, and feel.

While octopuses do not usually have encounters with humans in the oceans, research has shown that octopuses can recognize human faces when they are kept in captivity. Some of the octopuses who were kept in an aquarium showed definite signs of recognizing the humans that they often saw or interacted with most often.

Octopuses have around 500 million neurons in their body, which means that these animals can feel a lot in their wild habitat as compared to many other species of animals.

An octopus's body is nearly all-muscle, and a very small portion of the body is made of other material. Namely, there are two plates that prop the octopus's head up and a beak that helps the animal in catching prey.

Are octopuses more intelligent than humans?

The history of evolution is quite interesting, and it is very amusing to find out about different deep ocean creatures and how they have adapted to their wild habitat.

Similarly, in the case of octopuses, which live in a rather hostile environment with lots of predatory creatures, it is pretty interesting how these animals have created complex anatomy with eight arms and nine brains. They also have three hearts that circulate blood to the gills and the rest of the body.

Octopuses have the highest brain-to-body ratio among invertebrates. This ratio is a marker for how much brain capacity an animal has and how easy it would be able to navigate its way out of the path of becoming prey.

While octopuses are definitely more intelligent than most animals, they are not smarter than mammals. By extension, they are not more intelligent than humans either.

They sure can perform a number of unusual activities that most animals are not capable of performing. Still, their brain-to-body ratio and abilities do not allow them to become superior to humans in terms of intelligence!

If you're looking for more interesting facts about octopuses, we have some more in store for you. The giant Pacific octopus has blue blood. The blue color is rendered by a protein called hemocyanin. It is through this protein that oxygen can be circulated to the entire body of this animal, even in the cold habitat.

Octopuses are oviparous animals, which means that they reproduce by laying eggs. The female octopus takes care of its eggs and nurtures them till they hatch. Octopus eggs take a long time to hatch, and hence, many female octopuses die in the process of caring for their eggs.

While the female octopus often dies taking care of its eggs, the male octopus doesn't have a fun time either. It is very common for male octopuses to die right after completing their side of the reproductive process.

Scientists have been using food rewards as a way of understanding just how intelligent octopuses are. Most of these animals have proven that their nine brains are there for a reason!

Octopuses are also capable of camouflage. This is enabled by special cells on the animal's body, which contract and expand, regulating how much of the colored pigments of the octopus's body would be visible.

This, combined with the fact that these animals can change the texture of their skin, can often make it impossible to separate an octopus from its oceanic habitat.