Undoubtedly one of the most intelligent creatures in the sea, the Octopus has it all: brains, good looks, athleticism, character, not to mention a few extra arms!
The Curled Octopus, Ireland ’s native Octopus, is instantly recognisable by its large round body, long flowing tentacles (arms) and rich red and white colouring. It is every bit the complex creature it seems...

Octopus belong to the same family of sea creatures as Squid and Cuttlefish, known as the Cephalapods. This name is from the Greek which means “head-foot”.

They aren’t fish, but are in-fact shell-fish; molluscs, to be precise. In the case of the Octopus it has evolved to lose its shell, and is referred to as “the shellfish without a shell”. As a mollusc, it is related to a variety of other creatures such as the terrestrial Garden Snail!

Octopus have 8 tentacles, each containing a row of suckers which are used for climbing and hanging on to prey. They can walk along the sea-bed quickly using their arms, and this is their normal mode of transport. However, if they need to beat a hasty retreat for any reason they can swim rapidly backwards by exhaling water from the siphon attached to the side of their body.

Their other form of defence is of course the black ink which they shoot out to confuse a predator and this affords them a few vital seconds with which to effect their escape.

Octopus, like most Cephalopods, only mate once, and then die once their eggs have hatched. Thus they have a very short life span of only two or three years. In the wild, after they have mated, ceased feeding, and begun to lose strength, they are usually picked off quite quickly by predators, but in the aquarium, where there are no predators, they can survive in the more relaxed environment for up to 18 months.