Octopus news, features and articles
Latest about Octopuses

Octopus Gets Mental Workout with Hamster Ball
By Tia Ghose last updated
Octopuses are highly intelligent, and thanks to their amazing, neuron-filled tentacles, they can do humanlike tasks such as unscrewing jars and lids.

Rare Kissing Octopus Unveiled For the First Time
By Tia Ghose last updated
Scientists are unveiling a rare Pacific octopus with a taste for eating its partners during sex

Octopuses Have Moves, But No Rhythm
By Laura Geggel last updated
Octopuses move with a simple elegance, but they have no rhythm, according to new research.

Antarctic Octopus's 'Blue Blood' Helps It Survive in Frigid Waters
By Shannon Hall last updated
Antarctic octopuses survive subzero temperatures because of the blue pigments in their blood, a new study finds.

Octopuses torture and eat themselves after mating. Science finally knows why.
By Stephanie Pappas published
Octopus mothers slam themselves against rocks and eat their own arms before their eggs hatch. Scientists have discovered what leads to the self-destruction.

How do octopuses change color?
By Harry Baker published
Octopuses are one of the most successful camouflaging animals in the world. But exactly how they pull off their rapid, high-resolution color changes is still a mystery.

'Mind-boggling' scrambled genome found in octopus and squid. It could explain their smarts.
By Stephanie Pappas published
Squid, octopus, and other cephalopods are genetic rulebreakers who have scrambled their genomes, perhaps allowing them to evolve their impressive smarts.

Rare octopus video shows 'once-in-a-lifetime encounter'
By Patrick Pester published
A mesmerizing new video of an elusive blanket octopus swimming above the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, Australia shows a "once-in-a-lifetime encounter."
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.