An octopus is a fascinating creature. It has eight powerful arms, three hearts, blue blood and can solve complex puzzles. However, it is also known for its ability to camouflage itself with the environment around it. Octopuses are mostly found in shallow waters near the shoreline, but some species have been spotted far out of their natural habitat. This leads scientists to believe that octopuses might be able to survive on land (outside their natural habitat) for some time.
An octopus cannot live on land for an extended length of time. Octopuses have gills, and gills require water to move over them in order for their possessor to breathe. However, an octopus can leave the water and walk over land for short distances, but they must return after a short while.
The first question that one might ask is why do octopuses live in water? The answer lies in its best defense mechanism – camouflage techniques. One of the main reasons why they choose shallow water over deep oceans is because they use rocks as hiding places. If an octopus camouflages well with its surroundings it can hide from predators. But on land, this advantage is largely compromised and the only way for them to stay safe is by running away or hiding in small places such as rock crevices.
A. Can an octopus live on land?
Experts suggest that if an octopus spends too much time on land it will basically suffocate because of the density of air compared to water. It has a special organ called a “book-lung” which helps extract oxygen from the water through diffusion. This is known as cutaneous respiration and is common in aquatic creatures with gills, but not ones with lungs like human beings, turtles etc. So while an octopus can survive on land for some time, it cannot live on land.
No, octopuses are aquatic creatures. They are unable to survive outside of the water. For that matter, not even fish can live on land for too long. There are many reasons why an octopus cannot live on dry land. Many of these reasons relate to both their biology and environment.
B. Why can’t an octopus live on land?
Many people have wondered if there is any truth in the myth that an octopus can live out of water. Octopuses are considered very intelligent and resourceful, so it is only natural to wonder if they can survive on land. The truth is, however, that no matter how intelligent they might be, octopuses (and any other aquatic creature besides fish) cannot live on land for any significant amount of time because
1) They possess gills
2) They cannot spend too much time away from water or else their skin will dry up
3) They need a freshwater source to drink. These three reasons prove why octopuses must remain in the water at all times and why even fish cannot live out of water for long periods. All have evolved to live aquatic lifestyles and cannot change.
Like most marine life, octopuses have a very important structure called a gill that allows them to breathe underwater. Gills provide oxygenated water that passes into the octopus’ mantle cavity through in current openings called Ostia and out of the octopus through excurrent openings called exhalant apertures.
This is an efficient system for extracting dissolved oxygen from the water as long as those structures remain moist with water. Because those structures are closed off from air when an octopus is on land, it does not receive enough oxygen for survival and suffocates.
Another reason why all aquatic creatures (including octopuses) must stay in the ocean or other bodies of water is that their skin dries out if they are on land for too long. The same reason that makes it difficult to breathe is also why the octopus decomposes rapidly if it dies on land.
Because of these facts, there is no truth to myths about an octopus living on land and even fish cannot survive for long periods out of the water. Although octopuses do possess some limited mobility on land and can successfully hide from predators among rocks and in crevices, they must return to the ocean as soon as possible or else die.
C. Can an octopus hurt you?
Generally speaking, it’s not safe to approach any wild animal, but an octopus will not attack unless felt threatened. There are many reasons why an octopus might consider you a threat to its safety. One reason is that it cannot breathe out of water for very long. If the octopus feels like it will suffocate if it does not get back in the water soon enough, it may try to scare you away so that you leave and give it more time before being discovered by predators or other people who might come along.
Another possibility is that the octopus perceives your presence as interfering with its ability to find food because usually when an octopus leaves the water, it comes up onto land to hunt prey just above the shoreline where crabs, small fish, small mollusks, and insects are likely to be hiding. In the meantime, however, you might also feel threatened because an octopus can produce a very strong and painful bite with its sharp beak.
Another reason why it will not hesitate to attack is if it perceives a threat from a human hand reaching out to touch one of its arms or tentacles because that arm contains specialized suckers called cirri which provide the octopus with important sensory information about nearby objects.
These sensors are sensitive enough that they can actually distinguish between different types of metal and react differently when touching various parts of the object’s surface. This discovery has led scientists to believe that these same types of sensors may give an octopus the ability to taste what it touches, so in order to avoid being bitten by an octopus, it is best not to touch its arms or tentacles.
There are several reasons why you should never attempt to keep an octopus as a pet, but the most important one is that they simply do not make good companions. Although they possess eight long muscular arms which they use to swim through the water and crawl along the ocean floor, these arms are very delicate and easily damaged if pulled roughly; this makes them feel extremely vulnerable in an environment where predators might try to attack at any moment.
This fact may also explain why octopuses like spending time with other octopuses for protection instead of swimming alone. So another reason why they will not want you as a companion is that you cannot provide them with the sense of security they really need.
D. Can an octopus live in fresh water?
Yes, they can. While their range is mostly limited to saltwater (since that is where they normally live) some species of octopuses do inhabit rivers and lakes. For example, the giant Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) spends most of its life in the coastal regions of Alaska and British Columbia but will migrate upstream into freshwaters such as Lake Washington and Hood Canal to breed (Blakemore, 1996).
However, this behavior has not been observed by many researchers and these observations are more anecdotal than formal records of study. Thus it is safe to say that while some may venture into freshwater for breeding purposes or to escape deep ocean waters during El Niño events, they are mostly found in saltwater
Octopuses can survive for a very brief period on land, but if their skin dries out they will die.
A pet octopus is not a good companion because they do not feel safe when you are holding them, are highly sensitive to touch, are quick to bite out of fear or hunger, and do not stay healthy for long if left in captivity.
An octopus would not harm you unless it feels threatened or senses that your hand contains dangerous metal objects.
CONCLUSION
While octopuses cannot live on land for extended periods of time, their ability to camouflage makes them difficult to spot and thus people do not need to fear them. If you happen to spot an octopus while it is crawling on land, experts say that you should leave it alone as it will soon find its way back into the water by itself (Yong, 2014).
Due to their opportunistic feeding patterns, humans should be wary of getting too close or touching one because there is always the chance that the octopus might mistake a finger or toe for food and give a non-lethal bite. And if someone does get bitten then it becomes important not to panic but rather seek medical attention immediately.
The main reason why octopuses cannot live on land for very long is that first, they need water to maintain their skin’s elasticity and to help them breathe. If they remain out of the water for too long, their skin will dry up and turn into a stiff protective layer that inhibits its ability to move quickly and prevents it from collecting oxygen through the gas exchange at the surface of its skin.
Secondly, an octopus’ nervous system is very sensitive and easily damaged if pulled roughly which makes it feel insecure; this insecurity can make it lash out in self-defense if you attempt to grab or hold onto one unexpectedly. The third reason is that most octopuses like spending time with other octopuses for protection instead of swimming alone.
If you have an octopus as a pet, avoid touching its arms or suckers with your bare hands because they are very sensitive sensors that can distinguish between different types of metal objects.
Touching with any object containing metal will make an octopus feel threatened and most likely cause it to bite out of fear