The order Octopoda includes around 300 species of soft-bodied, eight-limbed mollusks. Squids, cuttlefish, and nautiloids are all included in the Cephalopoda class. An octopus, like other cephalopods, has two eyes and a beak on each side of its mouth, which is located in the middle of the eight limbs.

Octopuses can squeeze through narrow spaces thanks to their flexible bodies’ ability to change shape quickly. They swim with their eight appendages trailing behind them. By releasing a jet of water, the siphon is employed for both breathing and movement. Octopuses are among the most intellectual and behaviorally varied invertebrates, with a sophisticated neurological system and superb vision.

Octopuses may be found in a variety of environments, including coral reefs, pelagic seas, and the seafloor; some dwell in the intertidal zone, while others survive at abysmal depths. The majority of species are fast-growing, mature early, and have a limited lifespan. The male in most species uses a specially modified arm to transfer a bundle of sperm straight into the female’s mantle cavity, after which he turns senescent and dies, while the female deposits fertilized eggs in a den and cares for them until they hatch, after which she also dies.

Expulsion of ink, the use of camouflage and threat displays, the ability to jet swiftly through the water and conceal, and even deception are all strategies used to defend themselves against predators. Although all octopuses are poisonous, only the blue-ringed octopuses are known to be dangerous to humans.

Octopuses have been depicted in folklore as sea monsters such as the Kraken of Norway and the Ainu’s Akkorokamui, as well as the Gorgon of ancient Greece. Victor Hugo’s novel Toilers of the Sea has an octopus fight, which inspired works like Ian Fleming’s Octopussy. Shunga, or Japanese erotic art, features octopuses. Humans eat them and consider them a delicacy in many areas of the world, particularly in the Mediterranean and Asian oceans.

The scientific Latin name octopus comes from the Ancient Greek o, which is a composite form of (okt, “eight”) and (pous, “foot”), which is a variant version of, a word used for the common octopus by Alexander of Tralles (c. 525–c. 605). “Octopuses” is the usual pluralized version of “octopus” in English; historically, the Ancient Greek plural “octopodes” (/ktpdiz/) has also been used. The plural “octopi” is grammatically erroneous because it incorrectly thinks that octopus is a Latin second declension “-us” noun or adjective whereas it is a third declension noun in either Greek or Latin.

The only acceptable plural in English is “octopuses,” according to Fowler’s Modern English Usage; “octopi” is misunderstood, and “octopodes” is pedantic; however, the latter is used frequently enough to be recognized by the descriptivist Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary and Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

The Oxford English Dictionary includes “octopuses,” “octopi,” and “octopodes” in that order, based on frequency of usage, with “octopodes” being rare and “octopi” being a misnomer. “Octopuses” is the sole permissible pluralization, according to the New Oxford American Dictionary (3rd Edition, 2010). “Octopodes” is still infrequently used, but “octopi” is wrong.

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