Octopuses are soft-bodied molluscs that inhabit areas of the ocean with low oxygen levels.

To adapt, they have developed a circulatory system that maximizes their oxygen intake.

Two of their hearts are called branchial hearts.

These are situated near the gills and serve a specific purpose – they pump blood directly to the gills, where oxygen is extracted from seawater.

Systemic Heart

The third heart, known as the systemic heart, pumps the oxygen-rich blood from the gills to the rest of the body.

This arrangement allows octopuses to get enough oxygen, which is vital since their active brains and intricate nervous systems need a constant supply.

The systemic heart, responsible for circulating blood throughout the body, temporarily halts when the octopus swims.

When swimming, an octopus uses jet propulsion by forcefully expelling water through a siphon.

This action increases the pressure within its body, making it difficult for the systemic heart to pump blood effectively.

As a result, less oxygen circulates through the body, causing the octopus to tire quickly. This is why swimming is so energy-intensive for octopuses.

They typically reserve it for escaping predators.

Octopus blood is blue instead of red, which makes them even stranger.

Why Is Octopus Blood Color Blue?

Their blood is blue because it contains hemocyanin, a copper-based molecule that carries oxygen, rather than the iron-based hemoglobin found in humans.

Hemocyanin works best in cold, low-oxygen water, which is common in deep or temperate oceans.

However, it doesn’t carry oxygen as efficiently during intense activities like swimming, which is another reason octopuses get tired quickly when swimming.

Since swimming is so tiring, octopuses mostly live on the ocean floor and crawl around using their arms.

Moving in this way helps them conserve energy and maintain steady oxygen levels.

Their peculiar bodies have an impact on their behavior as well.

Because of how their bodies carry oxygen, octopuses frequently display brief bursts of activity interspersed with rest intervals.

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