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Discover the remarkable traits that make octopuses one of nature's most remarkable creatures.
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00:00Look at this pretty creature. It looks cute and totally harmless.
00:03But you should know that appearances are deceptive,
00:06and the blue-ringed octopus is an extremely venomous species of octopus.
00:10In fact, they are one of the world's most venomous marine animals.
00:13These creatures are found in tide pools and coral reefs.
00:17Despite their small size, a mere 5 to 8 inches,
00:21they are very dangerous to humans if provoked.
00:23Their venom contains a powerful neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin.
00:27When the animal feels threatened, its first instinct is to flee.
00:31But if the threat persists, for example,
00:34if you don't give up the idea of picking the octopus up,
00:37it will go into a defensive stance and display its blue rings.
00:40If the octopus is cornered and touched, it may bite its attacker,
00:43and it can end very, very badly.
00:46Tetrodotoxin causes severe consequences,
00:48and sometimes results in total body paralysis.
00:51When the victim is fully aware of the surroundings but unable to move,
00:54the victim remains conscious and alert,
00:57but because of the paralysis,
00:59there's no way of signaling for help or indicating distress.
01:02Interestingly, in its chilling mode,
01:04the blue-ringed octopus looks brown or even pale,
01:07but once it feels endangered,
01:09it switches on its psychedelic pattern.
01:12Such a response is called aposomatic behavior.
01:15In simple words,
01:17it's when an animal flashes bright colors warning others that,
01:20should they take a bite,
01:21they won't live to tell the tale.
01:22Of course, the blue-ringed octopus isn't the only dangerous animal
01:26that looks harmless out there.
01:27For example,
01:28look at this creature.
01:30This animal looks super cute,
01:32fluffy and soft-looking.
01:34The desire to touch it is irresistible.
01:36Watch out!
01:37The sting of the hairy caterpillar can pack a serious punch.
01:41It's called the puss moth caterpillar, or asp.
01:44Hidden among that luxurious fur,
01:45there are venom spines equipped with stinging cells like jellyfish.
01:49People react very differently to caterpillar toxins.
01:51Some may develop more severe reactions than others.
01:55Plus,
01:56how bad the consequences are
01:57also depends on the thickness of the skin in the affected area.
02:00In most cases,
02:02the unpleasant sensations and rash go away in a few hours or sometimes days.
02:07The next animal on our list
02:08is the poison dart frog.
02:10There are more than 170 species of these frogs,
02:14and funnily enough,
02:15not all of them are actually poisonous.
02:17Those which are secret,
02:19extremely dangerous toxins through their skin.
02:22On the bright side,
02:23the frogs never use these toxins for hunting or attacking.
02:27They only have them for self-defense.
02:29Experts aren't sure,
02:30but they suppose that the frogs' ability to produce these toxins
02:34might come from a diet rich in toxin-containing animals,
02:37for example,
02:38centipedes or ants.
02:39Indigenous peoples in Central and South America
02:42have been known to rub their arrows and darts on the frogs
02:45in order to give them a poison tip.
02:47The main thing you need to keep in mind,
02:50if you touch a poison dart frog,
02:51seek assistance immediately.
02:54Especially if you've come across the golden poison dart frog,
02:57it's the most toxic one.
02:59The flamboyant cuttlefish is the only known venomous cuttlefish species.
03:03This creature has incredibly poisonous muscle tissue,
03:06despite its tiny,
03:07two to three inches at most, frame.
03:10Watch out for a dark brown underwater animal
03:13with two tentacles and eight arms.
03:15It's also likely to have purple and yellow around its arms.
03:18Anyway,
03:19your best bet is to avoid biting into one of these intriguing creatures,
03:23and you'll most likely be safe.
03:25Predatory cone snails are very slow animals.
03:28This is the main reason why they have no means to capture their prey mechanically.
03:32I mean,
03:32they can't really grasp another animal or bite it.
03:35Instead,
03:36the cone snail has evolved potent venom that helps it survive.
03:40Probably the coolest thing about these creatures is that,
03:44among almost 1,000 species,
03:46there's no overlap in the toxins produced by each of them.
03:50Even though cone snails don't have fangs,
03:52they have a venom-covered harpoon they use to sting their prey.
03:56There's a tube-like structure at the end of a venom bulb,
03:58and a modified tooth can shoot out of the tube at a mind-boggling speed of 400 miles per hour,
04:03so being slow pokes doesn't actually bother cone snails.
04:07And since the venom is unique to certain species,
04:10some of them can deliver a minor sting,
04:12while others might cause serious harm to your health.
04:14For example,
04:15this reef-dwelling little fella unleashes a harpoon-like tooth to sting its prey,
04:19and there is no known cure for its venom.
04:22When you think of puffer fish,
04:24you probably imagine a bloated-looking creature with impressive 360-degree quills.
04:29But beneath those funny spikes,
04:31there is a vicious creature,
04:33and the most dangerous part of this creature is its poison,
04:36which is considered to be one of,
04:38if not the,
04:39most dangerous and potent in the world.
04:41The good news is that you won't get poisoned unless you eat the fish.
04:46So maybe better stick to the California roll.
04:49Now look at this insect and try to never approach it.
04:51It's the Japanese giant hornet.
04:53This monstrously-sized creature,
04:55which can grow to be almost two inches long,
04:58is known to be highly aggressive.
05:00Its impressive stinger packs enough venom
05:02to make the sting very, and I mean it, painful.
05:05Some people don't survive being stung by this insect.
05:08Even though the venom isn't the most potent,
05:11the large size of the creature makes the dose too big.
05:14And if it's not one but several hornets attacking you,
05:17well, the consequences are likely to be dramatic.
05:20The giant hornet isn't necessarily unfriendly toward people or other animals,
05:24but it will sting if you provoke it.
05:27This truly beautiful bright blue creature is called the Blue Sea Dragon.
05:31Despite such an imposing name,
05:33the critter is actually tiny, usually no bigger than a grape.
05:36You may find it on the beach or floating beside you in the water.
05:39Now, you need to remember one thing.
05:41However pretty this little slug may look,
05:43never ever touch it.
05:44Despite their tiny size,
05:46their sting can pack a punch,
05:48all because of their diet.
05:49Their favorite dish is the Portuguese man-o-war,
05:52a jellyfish that has enough venom
05:54to paralyze small fish and crustaceans.
05:56The Blue Dragons first use mucus
05:58to neutralize the jellyfish's infamous stinging cells,
06:01and then they steal these cells from the man-o-war's tentacles
06:05and store and concentrate them within their own tissues.
06:09Then they release these stinging cells on contact,
06:12which makes their own sting even more powerful,
06:15even worse than that of the man-o-war's itself.
06:17These awesome creatures are also extremely sneaky.
06:20Even though their appearance is bright, to say the least,
06:24they're well-known masters of disguise.
06:26You see, that vibrant blue coloring is actually on their bellies,
06:30and when they float on their backs,
06:33they simply blend with the water.
06:35As for their backs,
06:36they're gray to camouflage these animals on the sea surface.
06:39The Urukandji jellyfish, found in Australia,
06:43looks tiny and totally innocent,
06:45but appearances are deceitful,
06:46and this baby the size of a human thumbnail
06:49is actually extremely dangerous.
06:52During stinger season, which lasts from November to May,
06:56tons of beaches get closed
06:57because of these itsy-bitsy creatures.
07:00What makes the jellyfish particularly dangerous
07:02is their miniature size.
07:05People simply fail to notice them while swimming.
07:08The infamous box jellyfish,
07:10named for its cubic body shape,
07:11lives in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
07:14Stay away if you spot a creature
07:15with a squarish bell and long, dangling tentacles.
07:18And even if you only see a single tentacle
07:20without the jellyfish attached to it,
07:22don't come close or touch it.
07:24The box jellyfish can grow up to 10 feet,
07:26and each of its tentacles
07:28has about 500,000 microscopic harpoons to inject venom.
07:32Unlike other jellyfish,
07:34box jellyfish are hunters.
07:36They can latch onto you
07:37by wrapping their slender tentacles
07:39around your limb or body.
07:40Hidden in coral reefs,
07:42at the bottom of seas,
07:44near rocky shorelines,
07:46buried in the sand.
07:47Peek-a-boo, Mr. Octopus.
07:50If you ever wanted to know what aliens look like,
07:53I mean, I've never seen one,
07:54but I bet an octopus wouldn't be far off.
07:57Boneless creatures with a bulbous head,
08:00eight arms and legs,
08:02blue blood,
08:03three hearts,
08:03in different sizes and colors?
08:05Well, that seems pretty alien to me.
08:08Here's the scoop on the arm-leg thing.
08:10An octopus actually has six arms and two legs.
08:14How awesome would you be if you had the same?
08:16You could play yourself at your favorite video game.
08:19This animal is highly intelligent.
08:22Well, when you think about it,
08:23who wouldn't be with nine brains?
08:26They have eight brains in their eight arm-leg things,
08:29and a central one in the shape of a donut in their head.
08:32That means that when an octopus swallows,
08:34the food has to go through its brain.
08:37Their central brain has 180 million neurons,
08:40and there are more than 40 million neurons
08:42in each of their eight arms and legs.
08:44Your brain controls your arms and legs.
08:46But with an octopus,
08:48each arm is actually kind of independent
08:50with its own special brain,
08:52held together by a bigger central brain,
08:55kind of like the conductor of an orchestra.
08:57The central brain sends higher-level signals to each arm,
09:00saying things like,
09:02Move to the left!
09:02There's a crab behind the corner.
09:04Or,
09:05Touch this silly human's foot!
09:06Let's mess with him a little bit.
09:09No matter how smart their arms and legs might be,
09:12an octopus still needs to look after them all the time.
09:15Not that they're going to get any crazy ideas and run away,
09:18but an octopus has no idea where its arm is
09:22unless it sees it.
09:24Yup, the arm is like a secret agent,
09:26sending detailed signals about things like taste or texture,
09:29but somehow its GPS got lost or something.
09:33Your body has a special ability called proprioception.
09:37Basically, you always know where your arms are,
09:40even if you can't see them.
09:41That's how you can scratch your back
09:43without suddenly thinking you have no arms,
09:45or even get up in the middle of the night,
09:48half asleep, walk around, yawn,
09:50grab basically any food you find with your eyes still closed.
09:54Whoops! Sorry, tiger.
09:55Was that your tail?
09:56Well, yeah, and stuff your mouth with it.
09:59Nuh-uh, doesn't work with an octopus.
10:01This fella can't get any food
10:03unless it's looking at its arms grabbing it,
10:05which is probably way creepier for its prey.
10:08Come on, tiger, I said I'm sorry!
10:12There's a good reason for this feature.
10:14We have a fixed map of our body and our brains,
10:16but an octopus has a soft, fluid body
10:19that changes shape all the time.
10:21Having a fixed picture of what it looks like
10:24would be impossible for an octopus.
10:26It's so flexible,
10:27it can squeeze through a hole the size of a dime.
10:30That's how it can hide in tiny crevices,
10:32safe from big, sharp teeth.
10:35You're swimming around,
10:37snapping some underwater pics.
10:39You see an octopus,
10:40your eyes meet.
10:41Nah, relax!
10:43An octopus is more curious than anything.
10:45It doesn't actively go after people.
10:47It can attack when it feels threatened, though,
10:50or if you tease them too much.
10:52Also, it's not unusual for them to stick to your arm.
10:55They just want to see what you got.
10:57But that usually only happens
10:59when divers and snorkelers
11:01stick their hands into holes in the coral.
11:04Well, good!
11:05That's something I'd never do.
11:07If you're not into the idea
11:08of seeing an octopus on your next snorkel trip,
11:11relax.
11:12You probably never even see one anyway.
11:15Whales, bigger fish, seals,
11:16they all go after the poor octopus
11:19and are much faster.
11:20So, it needed to come up with a good way to escape.
11:23It's not that fast, strong, or scary-looking.
11:26But, aha!
11:28Camouflage!
11:29Perfect!
11:30Yep, you may think you're just looking
11:32at a seaweed-covered boulder,
11:34some cool multicolored algae or coral.
11:37And sometimes, you may think
11:39there's only sand down there by your feet.
11:41Nothing to look at.
11:42Well, think twice,
11:43because this animal
11:45doesn't just adjust its color
11:47to its background.
11:48It can also change the texture
11:50of its skin
11:50to camouflage even better.
11:52Smooth, spiky, bumpy,
11:54or anything it needs
11:56to adjust to its surroundings,
11:57all in the blink of an eye.
11:59Anything to add,
12:01water chameleon?
12:02These swimming geniuses
12:04like to use tools,
12:05just like dolphins,
12:06pros,
12:06and chimpanzees.
12:08For instance,
12:09say some poor coconut shells
12:11are endlessly floating around
12:12in the sea with nothing to do.
12:14Great news for our octopus!
12:16It swims along
12:17and turns the shells
12:18into its own mobile home.
12:20They can maneuver rocks,
12:22open clamshells,
12:23and even some child-proof bottles.
12:25The octopus is a quick learner,
12:27and there's a chance
12:29it even has a better
12:30long-term memory
12:31and short-term memory
12:32than humans.
12:33Yeah, right.
12:34Like it could, um...
12:36Wait, where was I?
12:37Oh yeah, ink.
12:39That's what the octopus
12:40is most famous for.
12:42When something big and nasty
12:43is about to catch up to it,
12:45the octopus squirts
12:46its blackish ink
12:47to confuse
12:48what's ever behind it
12:49and can even
12:50temporarily blind it.
12:52So, don't mess
12:53with an octopus.
12:55What's the craziest thing
12:56you've done
12:57when you're bored?
12:58No need to ask
12:59an octopus
12:59that question twice.
13:01When you put an octopus
13:02in an empty tank
13:03without interesting toys
13:05like flower pots,
13:06shells,
13:07bottles,
13:07or fun-shaped coral,
13:09it gets pretty stressed out
13:10and extremely bored.
13:12It can even eat
13:13its own arms.
13:14Still,
13:15that wouldn't be
13:16the end of the world.
13:17It can lose an arm
13:18for all sorts of reasons.
13:19If someone grabs it,
13:21an octopus can eject
13:22one of its arms
13:23to escape,
13:24like what a lizard does
13:25with its tail.
13:26Over time,
13:27the octopus
13:28can regrow
13:28a whole new arm.
13:30The giant Pacific octopus
13:32is the biggest octopus
13:33that we know of.
13:35One was 30 feet long
13:37and weighed 600 pounds.
13:39Hey,
13:39I only weigh
13:40a part of that.
13:42A more regular-sized octopus
13:44is usually
13:44about 22 pounds.
13:46You know,
13:46cute dog size.
13:48The smallest one
13:49is a tiny
13:50one-inch creature
13:51you can barely see.
13:52It weighs less
13:53than a fun-sized candy.
13:55An octopus lays
13:57a lot of eggs.
13:58Some can lay
13:59almost 100,000.
14:01Out of those,
14:02only a few will survive
14:03to become adults.
14:05An octopus
14:05has up to 2,000 suckers
14:07and grows really fast,
14:09gaining around 2%
14:10of its body weight a day.
14:12Octopuses eat shrimp,
14:14lobsters,
14:15fish,
14:15clams,
14:16sharks,
14:16or even birds.
14:17What can I say?
14:18They eat better than I do.
14:20Like the song says,
14:21you gotta have heart.
14:23Not one,
14:23not two,
14:24but some octopus species
14:26have three hearts.
14:27Living so deep
14:28in the ocean
14:29means living
14:30with less oxygen,
14:31which is why
14:32an octopus
14:32needs three hearts
14:34to pump enough oxygen
14:35around its body.
14:37In some species,
14:38the bigger heart
14:39stops beating
14:39when the animal
14:40is swimming.
14:41Their lifespan
14:42is not that long,
14:43around 3 to 5 years.
14:45What would happen
14:46if they lived
14:47as long as humans?
14:48They'd probably
14:49evolve super fast.
14:51Before you know it,
14:52they'd be running around,
14:53climbing trees
14:54with monkeys,
14:55developing a couple
14:56more brains,
14:57painting some
14:58cool pictures,
14:59playing chess,
15:00getting a job
15:01in a lab,
15:02realizing they can
15:03stretch their body
15:03out into a parachute
15:05and become
15:05champion skydivers.
15:07Well,
15:08maybe they'd keep
15:09us as pets.
15:10Since their lifespan
15:11is so short,
15:13there's one important
15:14thing they're missing
15:14out on,
15:15learning skills
15:16from their parents
15:17and siblings.
15:18They don't really care
15:19a whole bunch
15:20about their young,
15:21so an octopus
15:22needs to learn
15:23everything on its own,
15:24which kind of
15:25takes a lot of time.
15:26discovering their
15:27superpowers,
15:28where to eat,
15:29where to hide,
15:30things they can do
15:31with coconut shells.
15:32next week.
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