Octopus with blue rings. The most dangerous marine life. Blue-ringed octopus. What does the animal look like

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 each year. Unfortunately, some cases turn out to be 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 posed by these beautiful small cephalopods and, therefore, they either pick them up, considering them harmless octopuses, or get a bite as a result of accidental contact with them. The bite of the blue-ringed octopus is a small incision and is usually painless. Often the victims are not even aware that they have been bitten, which presents a problem for medical personnel in determining the cause of the patient's suffering.

Depending on how much venom is injected into the wound, symptoms can appear fairly quickly. Within five to ten minutes, the victim will experience paresthesias 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 is dose dependent. The elderly, and especially children, are most at risk. Experiments on rabbits have shown that the poison from one adult blue-ringed octopus weighing only 25 g is enough to kill 10 adults. There is no antidote against this poison, and only if we manage to maintain an artificial supply of oxygen for a long time, then it will be possible to save a person.

The venom of blue-ringed octopuses is found in saliva. In the late 1960s, scientists isolated the main active toxin from the highly enlarged posterior salivary glands of the Australian blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena Maculosa). These globular shaped glands are located in the anterior cavity behind the brain. 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. At the same time, it was recognized that maculotoxin has similarities with the known tetrodotoxin (TTX). The extremely lethal TTX has previously been found in pufferfishes. The famous dish is made from it.

). Despite their small size, they have a rather aggressive character, and are recognized as one of the most poisonous animals in the world. Blue-ringed octopuses are easily recognizable by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellow skin. When the octopus is irritated or frightened, brown patches 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 shrimps. Being disturbed, or defending themselves, they attack the enemy, including a person.

Classification

The species was described by the British zoologist Guy Coburn 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 on the basis of a single specimen found in the Bay of Bengal; the existence of this species is questionable.

habits

The skin of Blue-ringed octopuses, like other cephalopods, is able to change color, thanks to cells containing a chromatophore. This ability is used by them for camouflage, and in case of danger, the color changes, becoming bright yellow with blue rings or lines.

Food

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

reproduction

When mating, the male approaches the female, and begins to caress her with "hands" - tentacles. Then it covers the female's mantle with tentacles. After that, the male secretes sachets with seminal fluid, and with the help of tentacles, fertilizes the female with them. Mating continues until the female gets bored. In at least one of the varieties, the female forcefully tears off the overexcited male from herself. During the mating season, males try to mate with any member of their species, regardless of gender or age, but mating between males is most often not so long, and ends without fertilization and struggle.

At the end of autumn, the females make the only clutch in their life, usually consisting of about 50 eggs. Clutch care lasts about 6 months, during which the female does not feed. After the appearance of offspring from eggs, the female dies. In about a year, the new generation of octopuses will reach sexual maturity and be ready to mate.

Poison

Despite the fact that the size of the blue-ringed octopus does not exceed 12-20 cm, the power of its poison is enough to kill a person. Currently, there is no antidote for the venom of the blue-ringed octopus.

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 the blue-ringed octopus venom has been named maculotoxin, but later proved to be tetrodotoxin. This neurotoxin has also been found in the venom of pufferfish and cone snails. 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 venom is produced by symbiotic bacteria that live in the salivary glands of the octopus.

Giving help

To provide full assistance, the bite victim needs inpatient treatment with mandatory connection to an artificial respiration apparatus until the toxin is removed from the body. The bites of the blue-ringed octopus are especially dangerous for children, due to their small body weight. Since death from venom occurs primarily due to respiratory arrest, bite victims survive if artificial respiration is initiated and continued before cyanosis and hypotension develop. Victims who survive the first 24 hours most often fully recover.

It is important that care continues even if the victim appears to have died. Tetrodotoxin poisoning leads to a state in which the victim is fully aware of what is happening, can see, hear, but is unable to move or breathe. Because of their paralysis, they have no way of signaling the need for help. Artificial respiration until the arrival of medical personnel and subsequent hospitalization gives a good chance for a subsequent recovery.

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 poison is so strong that it can hit a person in just a few minutes, and the poison of one instance is enough to kill 10 people. The blue-ringed octopus is often called the "blue death", which, by the way, is not entirely true.

AT Everyday life this octopus has a dark brown or dark yellow coloration, and is very similar to other small cephalopods. However, if frightened or pursued, blue or blue iridescent spots instantly appear on it, which form a ringed pattern on the tentacles, which gave rise to such a name.

fiefdom blue-ringed octopus shoals are also 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 the 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 bears them for 50 days. After this period, miniature octopuses are born, whose dimensions do not exceed 4 mm. Juveniles spend their first month of life in upper layers waters where they feed on zooplankton and then sink to the bottom.

Blue-ringed octopus venom is the strongest 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 venom into the water near the object. When the neurotoxin enters the body of the victim, 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 has entered the body, which ultimately depends on the size of the mollusk.

Blue-ringed octopuses are very aggressive cephalopods, considered one of the most poisonous animals on Earth. They live everywhere from Australia in the south to Japan in the north in the coastal zone.

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

• 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 on the basis of a single individual found in the Bay of Bengal; the existence of this species is questionable.

Blue-ringed octopuses are easily recognizable by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellow skin. When the octopus is irritated or frightened, brown patches appear on the skin, and the blue rings become brighter and shimmer. Usually on the body of an octopus there are 50-60 rings.

The skin of blue-ringed octopuses, like other cephalopods, is able to change color thanks to cells containing a chromatophore. This ability is used by them for camouflage, and in case of danger, the color changes, becoming bright yellow with blue rings or lines.

They feed on crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps.

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

Being disturbed or defending themselves, they attack the enemy, including humans.

This octopus is quite small. The largest representatives grow up to 20 cm. But even such babies are a mortal danger under water. The blue-ringed octopus is capable of killing over 25 people in a single attack. Although he will not attack on purpose, there is always a risk of stepping on him under water or not noticing him in bright colors coral reef.

If you get too close to the animal, then he will not be afraid to attack first. In addition to the strongest poison, blue-ringed octopuses are very aggressive. It is worth diving very carefully in the habitats of these cephalopods and watch where you are swimming. A frightened and annoyed octopus is covered with bright brown spots, and blue rings begin to run quickly across its body. Such a "lantern" can be overlooked among corals, but in other cases it is quite easy to detect.

True, octopus most spends time in ambush, and it is very difficult to notice him. Animal cells contain a chromatophore and are able to change color depending on the environment. Climbing into a crevice between stones, or hiding at the bottom, the octopus, like a spider, is waiting for its prey - shrimp, crabs, small fish. But not only the appearance and ambush hunting tactics make the octopus look like a land spider. Blue-ringed octopuses, attacking the victim, bite through its shell or skin, and inject poison into it, and then simply suck out the softened flesh.

Octopus venom has the strongest nerve-paralytic effect. It acts very quickly, blocks various parts of the nervous system, causing paralysis of the whole organism and respiratory arrest. The victim dies from lack of oxygen. And if crabs and shrimps die in the arms of blue-ringed octopuses, having time to see their killer, then a person may not even feel that he has become a victim of a dangerous cephalopod. Only when the paralysis takes over the whole body does the person realize that something terrible has happened.

The bitten remains conscious and aware of everything that is happening, but cannot move and signal help. When the fact of the bite is already established, the person needs to apply a pressure bandage to the bite site in order to reduce the level of poison entering the bloodstream. When paralysis began, artificial ventilation of the lungs was necessary until cyanosis and arterial hypotension began (a strong decrease blood pressure). If a person is not allowed to die from a lack of oxygen before the arrival of doctors, then the chances of recovery greatly increase. Paralysis goes away after a few hours, and if the victim manages to survive these terrible hours, then this day can be considered a second birthday.

In blue-ringed octopus habitats, divers are strongly advised to carry a portable ventilator on their boat. Only timely help can help a person survive a bite from a blue-ringed octopus. An antidote for its poison has not yet been created.

Scientific classification:
Kingdom: Animals
Type of: Shellfish
Class: Cephalopods
Detachment: Octopus
Family: Octopodidae
Genus: Blue-ringed octopus (lat. Hapalochlaena (Robson, 1929))

[ ] . Blue-ringed octopuses are easily recognizable by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellow skin. When the octopus is irritated or frightened, brown patches appear on the skin, and the blue rings become brighter and shimmer. Usually on the body of an octopus there are 50-60 rings. They feed on crabs, hermit crabs and shrimps. Being disturbed or defending, they attack the enemy, including a person.

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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 marine life. And no matter how hard scientists try to study the nature, character and behavior of these amazing mollusks, they still remain completely unsolved. And this is not surprising, because the octopus is not the same as all the other inhabitants of the seas and oceans. His blood is blue, he has three hearts, a large highly developed brain and rectangular pupils. Appearance the octopus is a little discouraging and at first glance it is not clear - where is the head, and where are the limbs, where is the mouth, and where are the eyes. In fact, everything is simple. The octopus's sac-like body from the front passes into a large head, on the upper surface of which bulging eyes are located. The mouth of octopuses is tiny and surrounded by powerful chitinous jaws, similar to the beak of a parrot. The beak is necessary for octopuses to inflict wounds on the enemy, as well as to grind food, since they cannot swallow prey whole. In addition, they have a special grater in their throats, which grinds pieces of food into gruel. The head of an octopus bears eight arms - tentacles. They are long and muscular, their lower surface dotted with suckers. The tentacles are connected by a small membrane - umbrella. Some species of octopus have small fins on the sides of their bodies that are used more as rudders than engines. Fined octopuses are sometimes called Dumbo octopuses because of the pterygoid fins resembling ears. If you look closely, then under the eyes of an octopus you can see a hole or a short tube - the so-called siphon. The siphon leads to the mantle cavity, into which the octopus draws water. By contracting the muscles of the mantle, he forcefully pushes the collected water, thereby creating a jet stream that pushes him in the opposite direction. It turns out that the octopus swims backwards. Octopuses are usually painted brown, Brown color, but they can change color just as well as chameleons. The change of color occurs according to the same principle as in reptiles: in the skin of octopuses there are chromatophore cells containing pigments, they can stretch and contract in a matter of seconds. Cells contain only red, brown and yellow pigments. Alternating stretching and contraction of cells of different colors creates a variety of patterns and shades. In addition, special irridiocyst cells are located under the layer of chromatophores. They contain plates that turn, change the direction of light and reflect it. As a result of the refraction of rays in irridiocysts, the skin of these mollusks can turn green, blue and blue. Just like in chameleons, the color change of octopuses is directly related to the color of the environment, as well as to the mood and well-being of the animal. A frightened octopus turns pale, and an angry one blushes and even turns black. Interestingly, the color change directly depends on visual signals: a blinded octopus loses the ability to change color, and a lost one eye changes color only on the "sighted" side of the body. The tactile signals from the tentacles also play a role, they also affect the color of the skin. Octopuses have a rather complex arrangement of internal organs. These invertebrates have as many as three hearts: one large (three-chambered) and two small gills. Gill hearts push blood through the gills to the main heart, which directs the flow of blood throughout the body. Octopuses have blue blood! Its color is due to a special respiratory pigment - hemocyanin, which in octopuses replaces hemoglobin. The gills themselves are located in the mantle cavity; they serve not only for respiration, but also for the excretion of decay products. Octopuses have well developed sense organs. Eyes have reached the highest perfection: they are very large and complex. Octopuses see with each eye separately, but when they want to take a closer look, they bring their eyes closer and focus them on the object, that is, they also have the rudiments of binocular vision. The angle of view of the bulging eyes approaches 360°. In addition, light-sensitive cells are scattered in the skin of octopuses, which allow you to determine the general direction of light. The brain of an octopus is one of the most developed among invertebrates. It is rolled up in the form of a donut around the esophagus. Nervous system octopus is designed so that 2/3 of all neurons are in the tentacles. That is, we can say that a cephalopod creature has not one brain, but nine! Its tentacles have a certain independence and, being separated from the body, continue to move and respond to tactile stimuli, grab food, trying to move it towards a non-existent mouth. All octopuses are active predators. They feed on crabs, lobsters, bottom clams and fish. Octopuses catch moving prey with tentacles and immobilize with poison, the suction power of the tentacles is great, because only one sucker of a large octopus develops a force of 100 g, and an octopus has an average of about 2 thousand such suckers. They gnaw through the shells of inactive mollusks with their beaks and rub them with a grater. The poison also slightly softens the crabs' shells. There is an opinion that octopuses are aggressive and dangerous to humans, but this is nothing more than prejudice. In fact, only the largest species of octopus pose a threat to scuba divers, and only during the breeding season. Other times, octopuses are wary, if not cowardly. Even with an enemy of equal size, they prefer not to get involved, but from large ones they hide in all possible ways. In nature, octopuses have many enemies, they feed on them. big fish , seals, sea lions and seals, as well as seabirds. Even large octopuses can dine with their small relatives, so they hide from each other no less than from other animals. These invertebrates have many ways to protect themselves. First, when necessary, octopuses move relatively quickly. Usually they move along the bottom on half-bent tentacles (as if crawling) or swim slowly, but when frightened, they can jerk at speeds up to 15 km / h. The fleeing octopus seeks to find a shelter. Since octopuses do not have bones, their body has amazing plasticity and is able to squeeze into a very narrow space. Moreover, octopuses build shelters with their own hands, surrounding the crevices with stones, shells and other finds, behind which they hide like behind a fortress wall. Secondly, octopuses change color, masquerading as the surrounding landscape. They do this even in a calm environment, just in case, while skillfully imitating any surface: stone, sand, broken shells, corals. A mimic octopus from Indonesian waters mimics not only the color but also the shape of 24 species of marine organisms. See with what ease the imitator octopus transforms into a flounder, a sea snake, a lionfish. Moreover, the octopus always imitates the species that the predator that attacked it is afraid of. This means that they are able to collect information about sea neighbors and make decisions in a critical situation. But all these methods of protection are nothing compared to the know-how of octopuses - the "ink bomb". They resort to this method of protection only when they are very frightened. The floating octopus releases a dark-colored liquid from its pouch that disorients the enemy... and more... The liquid affects the enemy's nerve receptors. For example, for some time deprives the sense of smell of predatory moray eels. There is a known case when an ink liquid got into the eyes of a scuba diver and changed his color perception, for several minutes the person saw everything in yellow. Often, the released liquid does not dissolve in water instantly, but retains the shape of ... the octopus itself for several seconds! Here is such a decoy duck and a chemical weapon thrown by an octopus to its pursuers. Finally, if all other tricks fail, octopuses can engage in open combat with the enemy. They show an unbending will to live and resist to the last: they bite, try to gnaw through the nets, try to mimic to the last breath (there is a known case when an octopus, pulled out of the water, reproduced on his body ... lines from the newspaper on which he lay! ). Grabbed by one tentacle, octopuses sacrifice it to the enemy, discarding part of their limb. Some species of octopus are poisonous. Their venom is not fatal to humans, but causes swelling, dizziness, and weakness. An exception is the blue-ringed octopus - their nerve-paralytic venom is deadly and causes cardiac and respiratory arrest. Luckily, these Australian octopuses are small and secretive, so accidents are rare. Octopuses are the most intelligent among all invertebrates, but they completely lack gene memory. Therefore, they acquire all their skills through their own experience and knowledge. Octopuses can distinguish between geometric shapes - they distinguish a circle from a square, a small pentagon from a large one, they are able to recognize a triangle even upside down. Octopuses recognize people, quickly get used to those who feed them, are easily tamed and can be trained. In addition, octopuses, when getting food, know how to use improvised objects, just like monkeys and people. Why didn't octopuses, with all their abilities, begin to dominate the sea waters like a person - on land? The reason is not a lack of intelligence. Some very uncomfortable features of their anatomy are to blame for this. For example, the blood of cephalopods contains the respiratory pigment hemocyanin, which does not contain iron, like our hemoglobin, but copper. It is less efficient in delivering oxygen, which is why octopuses “do not have enough breath” for many complex tasks. Octopuses are not very social, do not pass on experience from generation to generation and live no more than a few years - each of them has to start learning the world from scratch. If not for these factors, the cephalopods and their relatives could show the world impressive examples of intelligence, and perhaps one day the two-legged "kings of the land" would enter into a great war with the civilization of the eight-legged "kings of the sea."

Classification

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

• 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 on the basis of a single individual found in the Bay of Bengal; the existence of this species is questionable.

According to the opinion of the Australian researcher Mark Norman in the 1980s, the genus includes at least 9 species, 5 of which live in the waters of Australia. Norman's colleague, Julianne Finn, believes that the genus includes at least 20 species, 10 of which are distributed 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. characteristic feature blue-ringed octopuses - a bright color: dark brown spots are scattered over the body, head and tentacles of a grayish-yellow color, in the middle of each of which there is a sinuous bright blue ring, at the blue-striped ring on the tentacles, stripes on the body.

habits

The skin of blue-ringed octopuses, like other cephalopods, is able to change color thanks to cells containing a chromatophore. This ability is used by them 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 near the shore, up to the tidal band. They live on rocks, stones, sandy and muddy bottoms, often in meadows of algae or ascidian colonies. Clam shells, empty bottles and beer cans are used as shelter. In case of danger, ink is thrown out, 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.

Food

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

reproduction

When mating, the male approaches the female and begins to caress her with "hands" - tentacles. Then it covers the female's mantle with tentacles. After that, the male secretes sachets with seminal fluid and, using tentacles, fertilizes the female with them. Mating continues until the female gets bored. In at least one of the varieties, the female forcefully tears off the overexcited male from herself.

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

Distinctive feature females of the southern blue-ringed octopus - in that they do not attach eggs to the substrate, but constantly carry them on their hands, holding them with suction cups. Eggs 100-150 pieces, they are large, 7-9 mm, and glued together in 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 bottom juveniles hatch from the eggs, which at first stay close to the mother and begin to feed on their own after 3-7 days. Males and females of the southern blue-ringed octopus mate at the age of 4 months, a month later the female lays eggs. A complete reproductive cycle takes up to 7 months. A few days (rarely weeks) after hatching, the female dies of 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. Duration incubation period 25-35 days, planktonic larvae hatch from eggs

At the end of autumn, the females make the only clutch in their life, usually consisting of about 50 eggs. Clutch care lasts about 6 months, during which the female does not feed. After the appearance of offspring from eggs, the female dies. In about a year, the new generation of octopuses will reach sexual maturity and be ready to mate.

Poison

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

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 has been named maculotoxin, but later proved to be tetrodotoxin. This neurotoxin has also been found in the venom of pufferfish and cone snails. 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

The provision of first aid consists in applying a pressure bandage to the wound, at the first signs of paralysis it is also necessary to do artificial respiration, since the poison paralyzes the victim's respiratory centers 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 the poison curare or pancuronium. 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 be carried out until the arrival of medical personnel, which can be difficult for one person. You can make the task easier by using portable