What the yellow one took from the octopus. Dangerous blue-ringed octopus

Hapalochlaena lunulata. This bright creature spends most of its time hiding in a shelter. And if you disturb him, the offender will be in trouble! The blue-ringed octopus is one of the most poisonous animals in the world; its venom paralyzes the respiratory muscles, and a person can die from asphyxia within two minutes after being bitten. This octopus terrifies everyone: children swimming in the sea, divers, volleyball players playing on the beach, biologists who embark on dangerous adventures to study these cephalopods and learn more about the neurotoxins contained in their venom.

There are three known species of blue-ringed octopuses. Presumably, there is a fourth species, which was described in 1938 from just one individual, and another individual was caught in 2013.

The blue-ringed octopus got its name from the pattern of rings on its body. There are about 60 of these rings, and if the octopus is disturbed, they become brighter, and dark brown spots appear on the yellow skin, thereby indicating aggression and inviting the insolent octopus that disturbed it to leave quickly. The rings are blue and black, and they are located throughout the body - on the body and tentacles.

If someone continues to disturb the octopus without reacting to its bright rings, then it begins to bite. There is evidence that they are especially aggressive and more often move from preventive measures to attacking the female southern blue-ringed octopus Hapalochlaena maculosa during the period of protection of the masonry. Several substances that act as neurotoxins have been found in the salivary glands of the blue-ringed octopus. One of them, which plays the role of the main neurotoxic component, is tetrodotoxin. It is produced by symbiont bacteria living in the salivary glands. Previously, tetrodotoxin was found in various animals in the skin, muscles, liver, ovaries or eggs. The presence of tetrodotoxin in the salivary glands H. maculosa was a surprise and was the first time this toxin was found in poison. At first, tetrodotoxin was called maculotoxin, mentioning that they are very similar to each other, but there are some differences. And then they checked and found out that both of these substances are the same thing.

Tetrodotoxin is not only found in the salivary glands, but is also distributed throughout the octopus's body. For example, at H. maculosa it is present in all parts of the body, and its fairly high concentrations are found in the tentacles. In the blue-striped octopus H. fasciata tetrodotoxin was also found in the digestive gland, testes and some other organs, and in the large blue-ringed octopus H. lunulata- only in the salivary glands, mantle cavity and ink. Due to the distribution of this toxin throughout the body, many different hypotheses have been put forward about its purpose. One of them says that tetrodotoxin is used not only for defense, but also for attack.

Blue-ringed octopuses rarely attack humans. If caught by surprise, they react aggressively, but only in self-defense. Typically, these octopuses feed on invertebrates - shrimp, crayfish, and if they manage to grab a fish, they eat it too. Their process of eating prey is the same as that of spiders: the octopus grabs the prey, bites it and injects saliva containing tetrodotoxin, which has a paralyzing effect. And then, after waiting a little, the octopus sucks up the half-dissolved contents of the victim.

Sometimes a person still becomes a victim of a blue-ringed octopus bite. It is important that medical assistance is provided as quickly as possible. The problem is that the bite is painless, so they don’t notice it right away - but you need to act immediately: after all, you have no more than two minutes left, and there is no antidote for this poison. If an octopus bite is detected, you should immediately apply a pressure bandage above the bite to prevent the venom from spreading throughout the body. And you need to do artificial respiration. This is the most important point because tetrodotoxin causes paralysis of the body, affecting the respiratory centers of the brain. A person may appear dead on the outside but in fact remain conscious but have no way of communicating it. If he continues to perform artificial respiration until medical help arrives, and then is connected to a ventilator, then after a few hours the poison will be metabolized and eliminated from the body, and the paralysis will pass.

The reproduction and sexual behavior of blue-ringed octopuses has its own characteristics. For example, males of the great blue-ringed octopus H. lunulata are unable to distinguish between males and females of their own species and try to mate with both females and males.

Female southern blue-ringed octopus H. maculosa they live only about seven months, because after reaching maturity - about four months - they lay 100–150 eggs and stay with them all this time without feeding. They carry eggs in their tentacles all the time, holding them with suction cups, and after small octopuses emerge from them, they die of exhaustion. Exactly the same thing happens to females of the large blue-ringed octopus. H. lunulata, which at the age of about a year mate and lay about 50 eggs in a hole, attaching them to the ground. During the entire time that passes before the octopuses hatch, which takes approximately six months, they do not feed and take care of the clutch. And then they die.

Nadezhda Potapova

BLUE RINGED OCTOPUS (Hapalochlaena maculosa)- a small but extremely dangerous inhabitant of the ocean. Adults grow to only 20 cm long, measured from the top of the head to the ends of the tentacles, and weigh no more than 25 grams. Their venom is so strong that it can kill a person in just a few minutes, and the venom of one specimen is enough to kill 10 people. The blue-ringed octopus is often called the “blue death”, which, by the way, is not entirely true.

In everyday life, this octopus is dark brown or dark yellow in color, and is very similar to other small representatives of cephalopods. However, if it is frightened or chased, blue or light blue iridescent spots instantly appear on it, which form a ringed pattern on the tentacles, which gives rise to its name.

patrimony blue ringed octopus There are also shallows along the southern coast of Australia, where it hides in dense bottom algae and rock crevices.

Despite the fact that the male blue-ringed octopus cares for the female, after fertilization of the eggs he disappears, and the care of the offspring falls entirely on the shoulders of the female. After the eggs are laid, the female attaches them to the tentacles and carries them for 50 days. After this period, miniature octopuses are born, whose dimensions do not exceed 4 mm. Young individuals spend the first month of life in the upper layers of water, where they feed on zooplankton, and then sink to the bottom.

The venom of the blue-ringed octopus is a powerful neurotoxin produced along with saliva. The mollusk uses its deadly weapon mainly against crabs and bivalves, which it eats. It either injects it into the victim's body during the bite, or releases the poison into the water near the object. When the neurotoxin enters the victim's body, it affects the nervous and muscular systems, paralyzing the respiratory muscles, causing the victim to die from respiratory arrest.

The blue-ringed octopus does not show any aggression towards humans, but if it is disturbed or picked up, it will be immediately bitten. An effective antidote has not yet been developed against its poison, and in 8 cases out of 10 people die. It is possible to survive only if a little poison enters the body, which ultimately depends on the size of the mollusk.

The blue-ringed octopus is one of the deadliest animals in the sea. In Australia and the Indo-East Pacific they are quite common. Several people suffer from their bites every year. Unfortunately, some cases are fatal. In Australia, where blue-ringed octopuses appear in shallow coastal waters, they can also be found on beaches.

As a rule, the victim is not even aware of the danger that these beautiful small cephalopods pose and, therefore, either pick them up, considering them harmless octopuses, or receive a bite as a result of accidental contact with them. A blue-ringed octopus bite is a small incision and is usually painless. Often victims do not even know they have been bitten, which presents a challenge for medical personnel in determining the cause of the patient's suffering.

Depending on how much venom is injected into the wound, symptoms can occur quite quickly. Within five to ten minutes, the victim begins to experience paresthesia and numbness, progressive muscle weakness, difficulty breathing and swallowing. Nausea and vomiting, blurred vision and difficulty speaking are also typical symptoms of a blue-ringed octopus bite. In severe cases, it is accompanied by flaccid paralysis and respiratory failure, which leads to loss of consciousness and death due to cerebral hypoxia.

Interestingly, the victim's heart continues to beat until asphyxia occurs. Some victims remain conscious but unable to speak or move. Not all bites result in the transfer of venom. The severity of symptoms depends on the dose. Older people, and especially children, are at greatest risk. Experiments on rabbits have shown that the poison from one adult blue-ringed octopus weighing just 25 g is enough to kill 10 adults. There is no antidote to this poison, and only if it is possible to maintain an artificial supply of oxygen for a long time, then it will be possible to save the person.

Blue-ringed octopuses contain venom in their saliva. In the late 1960s, scientists isolated the main active toxin from the highly enlarged posterior salivary glands of the Australian species of blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena Maculosa). These globular glands are located in the anterior cavity behind the brain. The ducts from each gland join to form the common bile duct, which runs down through the brain and opens into the mouth.

The isolated toxin was characterized as a low molecular weight, non-protein neurotoxin and was named maculotoxin. It was recognized that maculotoxin is similar to the well-known tetrodotoxin (TTX). The extremely lethal TTX was previously discovered in pufferfishes. A famous dish is prepared from it

Immense physical strength, powerful fangs and razor-sharp teeth are not the only weapons used in the animal kingdom. Thousands of animals use highly toxic poisons for attack or defense.

We present to your attention the ten most poisonous creatures in the world.

(Total 14 photos)

1. Box jellyfish

The main prize of our top goes to the Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), which received this name because of its cubic shape. Over the past 60 years, this handsome man has claimed about 6 thousand lives. Its venom is considered the deadliest in the world, with toxins affecting the heart, nervous system and skin cells.

And, even worse, all this is accompanied by such hellish pain that the victims go into a state of shock and either drown or die from cardiac arrest. If you immediately treat the wound with vinegar or a solution of acetic acid, the victim has a chance, but, as a rule, vinegar cannot be found in water 😉

Box jellyfish can be found in the sea waters of Asia and Australia.

2. King Cobra (Ophiophagus hannah)

The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the longest venomous snake in the world, reaching 5.6 meters in length. Ophiophagus literally translates to "snake eater" because it eats other snakes. A single bite from this deadly snake can easily kill a person. It can kill even an adult Asian elephant within 3 hours if the animal is bitten in a vulnerable area such as the trunk.

Among the representatives of snakes there are also more poisonous ones than the King Cobra, but it is capable of releasing much more poison than others. For example, 5 times more than the Black Mamba.
The king cobra is widespread in the dense mountain forests of South and Southeast Asia.

3. Scorpio Leius quincestriatus

Contrary to popular belief, most scorpions are relatively safe for humans, since the stings only cause local effects (pain, anemia, swelling). However, the Leirus is a very dangerous species of scorpion because its venom is a powerful cocktail of neurotoxins that causes intense and unbearable pain, followed by fever, followed by coma, convulsions, paralysis and death.
Leiruses are common in North Africa and the Middle East.

4. Taipan or Fierce Snake (Oxyuranus microlepidotus)

Just one taipan bite contains enough venom to kill 100 adult humans or an army of 250,000 mice. Its extremely neurotoxic venom is at least 200-400 times more poisonous than that of a common cobra. In just 45 minutes after a bite, an adult can die. But fortunately, there is an antidote, and besides, this snake is very timid and immediately crawls away at the slightest danger.
Lives in Australia.

5. Darter frogs or poisonous frogs

If you ever visit the rainforests of Central and South America, never touch the beautiful little frogs - they can be extremely poisonous. For example, the size of the Golden Dart frog is only 5 cm, and the poison in it is enough to kill 10 adults.
In the old days, local tribes used the poison of these frogs to lubricate the tips of their arrows.

6. Blue Ringed Octopus (Australian Octopus)

The Blue Ringed Octopus is a small, golf ball-sized, but extremely venomous creature found in the coastal waters around Australia and slightly further north towards Japan. The blue-ringed octopus is usually light in color, with dark brown bands along its eight legs and body, with blue circles added on top of these dark brown bands. When an octopus is disturbed or taken out of the water, it darkens and the rings become shiny and electric blue, and it is this color change that gives the animal its name.

Its poison is strong enough to kill a person. In fact, the octopus carries enough venom to kill 26 adults within a couple of minutes, and there is no antidote. If measures are not taken and treatment is not started, the person begins to feel numbness, difficulty speaking, seeing, breathing problems arise, then complete paralysis and death occurs due to cardiac arrest and lack of oxygen.

7. Brazilian Wandering Spider (Phoneutria) or Banana Spider

This abomination was included in the Guinness Book of Records in 2007 for being responsible for the largest number of human deaths caused by spider bites. What is important is that these spiders are dangerous not only for their poison, but also for their behavior: they do not sit still and do not weave webs, they wander the earth, hiding in buildings, clothes, shoes, cars, anywhere; which significantly increases the risk of unexpectedly meeting them and being bitten.

8. Ball Fish or Puffer

Ball fish is the second most poisonous vertebrate animal on earth (the first is the Golden Dart frog from point 5). The meat of some subspecies, for example Fugu, is a delicacy in Japan and Korea, but the problem is that the surface of the fish and certain of its organs are very poisonous. The venom of fugu causes paralysis, resulting in suffocation and death from lack of oxygen.
Therefore, only licensed chefs are allowed to cook such fish in Japan.

9. Marbled Cone Snail

The marbled cone snail looks beautiful and very cute, but it can be just as deadly as any other animal on this list. A drop of its poison can kill 20 people. Signs of a bite: severe pain, swelling, numbness, and in serious cases, paralysis and respiratory failure. There is no antidote.

However, over the entire period, about 30 cases of human deaths from the poison of this snail have been recorded, which is not very much compared to other representatives of our list.

10. Stone fish

The stonefish may never win a beauty contest, but it will definitely win the Most Poisonous Fish award. The poison causes such unbearable pain that, in search of salvation from suffering, victims wish to amputate the affected area. The bite of a stonefish is believed to cause the greatest pain known to man. The pain is accompanied by shock, paralysis, and tissue death.

If you do not get immediate medical help, the outcome can be fatal.

Stonefish store their toxins in hideous dorsal ridges, which are designed to protect them from predators.
It is widespread in the tropical waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, from the Red Sea to the Great Barrier Reef.

[ ] . Blue-ringed octopuses are easily recognized by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellow skin. When the octopus is irritated or frightened, brown areas appear on the skin, and the blue rings become brighter and shimmer. Usually there are 50-60 rings on the body of an octopus. They feed on crabs, hermit crabs and shrimp. When disturbed or in defense, they attack the enemy, including humans.

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✪ MEET THE OCTOPUS!!!

✪ Why are there so many poisonous animals in warm climates?

Subtitles

Octopuses are one of the most mysterious sea creatures. Just like chameleons, the change in color of octopuses is directly related to the color of the environment, as well as to the mood and well-being of the animal. There is an opinion that octopuses are aggressive and dangerous to humans, but this is nothing more than prejudice. Often the released liquid does not dissolve in water instantly, but for several seconds retains the shape of... the octopus itself!

Classification

The species was described by British zoologist Guy Cockburn Robson in 1929. At the moment, three species of the genus are reliably known Hapalochlaena, and a fourth, whose existence is in question:

• Large blue-ringed octopus ( Hapalochlaena lunulata)
• Southern blue-ringed octopus or Lesser blue-ringed octopus ( Hapalochlaena maculosa)
• Blue striped octopus ( Hapalochlaena fasciata)
• Hapalochlaena nierstraszi- the species was described in 1938 based on a single individual found in the Bay of Bengal; the existence of this species is in question.

According to the opinion expressed in the 1980s by Australian researcher Mark Norman, the genus includes at least 9 species, 5 of which live in Australian waters. Norman's colleague, Julianne Finn, believes that the genus includes at least 20 species, 10 of which are common off the coast of Australia.

Description

Small octopuses, body length up to 4-5 cm, tentacle length up to 10 cm, weight up to 100 grams. All species are approximately the same size. The body is oval, usually pointed at the back like a lemon. The skin is wrinkled, often with small tubercles and papillae. A characteristic feature of blue-ringed octopuses is their bright color: dark brown spots are scattered across the body, head and tentacles of a grayish-yellow color, in the middle of each of which there is a winding bright blue ring, the blue-banded one has rings on the tentacles, and stripes on the body.

Habits

The skin of blue-ringed octopuses, like other cephalopods, is capable of changing color thanks to cells containing a chromatophore. They use this ability for camouflage, and in case of danger, the color changes, becoming bright yellow with blue rings or lines.

They can live at a depth of up to 75 meters, but, most often, directly off the coast, down to the high tide line. They live on rocks, stones, sandy and muddy bottoms, often in seagrass meadows or ascidian colonies. Clam shells, empty bottles and beer cans are used as shelter. In case of danger, they throw out ink, but its content is small, and in the southern octopus the ink sac is reduced and does not contain ink. They are nocturnal, but daytime activity is also possible.

Nutrition

Blue-ringed octopuses are predators. They mainly eat small crabs and shrimp, but they can also eat fish if they can catch it. In many ways, their feeding mechanism is similar to spiders - having attacked a victim, they bite through the shell with their beak, inject poisonous saliva, paralyzing their victim. After some time, the softened flesh is sucked out, leaving an empty shell.

Reproduction

During mating, the male approaches the female and begins to caress her with his “hands”-tentacles. After which it covers the female’s mantle with its tentacles. After this, the male secretes packets of seminal fluid and, with the help of tentacles, fertilizes the female with them. Mating continues until the female gets tired of it. In at least one variety, the female forcibly tears the overexcited male away from her.

During the mating season, males try to mate with any representative of their species, regardless of gender or age, but mating between males most often does not last so long and ends without fertilization or struggle.

A distinctive feature of the female southern blue-ringed octopus is that they do not attach their eggs to the substrate, but constantly carry them in their hands, holding them with suction cups. There are 100-150 eggs, they are large, 7-9 mm, and glued into piles of 5-20 pieces. The duration of incubation is about two months, which the female spends mainly in the shelter. In case of danger, it swims away with the eggs. The eggs hatch into benthic juveniles, which initially stay close to the mother and begin to feed independently after 3-7 days. Males and females of the southern blue-ringed octopus mate at the age of 4 months, and the female lays eggs a month later. The full reproductive cycle takes up to 7 months. A few days (less often, weeks) after the juveniles hatch, the female dies from exhaustion.

The eggs of the large blue-ringed octopus are small (3.5 mm), the female lays them in a hole, like other octopuses, attaching them to the ground. The duration of the incubation period is 25-35 days, planktonic larvae hatch from the eggs

At the end of autumn, females lay their only clutch in their lives, usually consisting of approximately 50 eggs. Caring for the clutch lasts about 6 months, during which the female does not feed. After the eggs hatch, the female dies. In about a year, the new generation of octopuses will reach sexual maturity and be ready to mate.

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Template:Biophoto Despite the fact that the size of blue-ringed octopuses does not exceed 12-20 cm, the strength of its poison is enough to kill a person. There is currently no antidote for blue-ringed octopus venom.

The venom of the blue-ringed octopus has a nerve-paralytic effect. It contains tetrodotoxin, serotonin, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine and dopamine. The main neurotoxic component of blue-ringed octopus venom is called maculotoxin, but, as was later proven, it is tetrodotoxin. This neurotoxin has also been found in the venom of pufferfish and the cone snail. Tetrodotoxin blocks sodium channels, causing paralysis of the motor parts of the nervous system, respiratory arrest and, as a result, cardiac arrest due to lack of oxygen. The poison is produced by symbiotic bacteria that live in the salivary glands of the octopus.

Giving help

Providing first aid consists of applying a pressure bandage to the wound; at the first signs of paralysis, it is also necessary to perform artificial respiration, since the poison paralyzes the respiratory centers of the victim within a few minutes after the bite. Tetrodotoxin causes severe and often complete paralysis of the body; the victim remains conscious but unable to move, as when exposed to curare or pancuronium poison. This effect, however, is temporary and disappears within a few hours as the tetrodotoxin is neutralized by the body. Thus, it is necessary that mechanical ventilation is carried out until medical personnel arrive, which can be difficult for one person. You can make the task easier by using portable