Reef octopus
Octopus cyanea
- Scientific name
- Octopus cyanea
- Group
- Cephalopods
- Rarity
- Common
- Where to see it
- Indo-Pacific & Red Sea
- Conservation status (IUCN)
- Least concern
Did you know?
Nicknamed the day octopus, it hunts in broad daylight and can change both color and skin texture in a split second to blend into coral or rubble.
What defines this group — Cephalopods
Octopuses, cuttlefish, squid and nautiluses: molluscs that became the most intelligent invertebrates.
- Eight arms — ten in cuttlefish and squid — set around a horny beak.
- Skin cells called chromatophores change colour and texture in a fraction of a second.
- Three hearts, and blue blood that carries oxygen with copper rather than iron.
Other species in this group
- Common octopus
- Common cuttlefish
- European squid
- Bigfin reef squid
- Blue-ringed octopus
- Flamboyant cuttlefish