On 8 October, the world marks World Octopus Day — creatures whose eight tentacles and ability to change the color and texture of their skin have long captured the imagination. These mollusks do not merely hide from predators: they use tools, solve problems, and display behavior that forces us to rethink ideas about intelligence in invertebrates.
Recent finds by Japanese paleontologists have shown that in the Late Cretaceous, roughly 100–72 million years ago, truly gigantic octopuses lived. Judging by the size of the jaw of the extinct species Nanaimoteuthis haggarti, scientists estimate a body length of 6,6 to 18,6 meters. Such dimensions suggest that ancient cephalopods occupied the top of the food chain in the oceans of that time, rivaling in scale the largest modern squids.
At the same time, a new species has been described in the Galápagos Archipelago — Microeledone galapagensis, a tiny blue octopus the size of a golf ball with short tentacles. An expedition in 2015, using an underwater vehicle, discovered it at great depth, and a recent study confirmed its status as a species new to science. Questions about exactly how it obtains food with its short limbs remain open.
Particular attention is drawn to observations of the reproduction of the Patagonian octopus Octopus tehuelchus. Females lay their eggs in oyster shells and tirelessly guard the clutch, forgoing food for the entire period. Rare images of embryos with already formed eyes offer a glimpse into the early stages of the life of a species whose conservation status has not yet been definitively determined, although catches in the region are declining.
These discoveries — from fossil colossi to modern dwarfs — underscore just how diverse and understudied the octopus group is. Each new fact reminds us that ocean ecosystems hold far more secrets than we can uncover, and that the preservation of habitats directly affects the possibility of further finds.
