The Coolidge examiner., 1936-10-23

Washington D. C.-WNU Service
7 HERE is a fascination about
sea creatures. Some, how
ever, to the average layman,
are fascinating only at a
distance. Consider the octopus.
With its relatives, the squid, cut
tlefshes, the pearly nautilus, and
argonaut, the octopus belongs to one
of the most remarkable groups in
the animal kingdom, the Cephalop-
oda, meaning the animals that have
their heads united with their feet.
Some octopuses are relatively
small animals with a centrally To-
Gated bulb-shaped body about two
inches in length, erected above
head with pair of cleaning eyes,
for the creatures actually stand on
their heads! The mouths are pointed
downward and are surrounded by
eight radiating arms, which to-
gether correspond to the feet IA
miliar in other mollusks.
AS one examines 12-inch speci-
mems it is hard to realize that
their relatives, the common octo-
puses of European and West Indian
waters, have arms five feet in
length, giving their possessors a
spread of ten feet or more, while
the great Octopus apollyon of the
Pacific is known to attain the enor-
nous diameter of twenty y-eight feet!
Their cousins, the giant squid, prac-
tically double these dimensions from
the tip of their tail to the end of their
great tenta cular arms, and are the
largest invertebrate animals known
to man.
1t seems impossible that these
huge creatures, the submarinelike
giant squid, with its efficient method
OF propulsion and aggressive habits,
and the weird, soft-bodied octopus
with its baleful eyes, protean
changes Of form and color, and re-
pulsive manner of engulfing its prey
both among the most active and
intelligent inhabitants of the sea
should belong to the same animal
phylum as the lowly snail and clam.
Yet science found that such is the
case.
Marauder of the Sea
The common octopus is one Of the
most grueSome marauders of the
sea. Hiding in rocky crevices on the
bottom, or squatting in the midst
of a nestlike lair of boulders, which
it has dragged together, the repul-
siVe creature lies in wait for it's
prey, the eight tapering arms
sprawling in all directions, extend
ing and contra citing, clinging to the
rocks with their powerful sucking
disks, or undulating through the
crevices as they explore everything
within reach.
The large, coldly staring eyes are
elevated on rounded protuberances,
enabling it to see in all directions.
Should an unWary fish or crusta-
cean venture within reach, long
tapering tentacle darts forth, the
slender tip encircles the prey, which
struggles desperately to escape the
adherent suckers, but without sue
cess, and the hapless creature is
dragged down to the cruel jaws to
be torn apart by the parrotlike beak.
This species of octopus is equip
ped with a double row of suckers,
arranged alternately, along the un-
derside of its arm, gradually dimin-
ishing in size toward the slender,
tapering tips. At their base, the
arms are united by a membrane
forming a flexible funnel, which en-
CULTS the captured victim and
presses it against the jaws in the
circular mouth-opening at the bot
| tom.
Though the octopus appears slug
gish as it creeps over the ocean
floor, nevertheless, on occasion, it
swims rapidly backward through
the water, trailing its tentacles out
around its head in a stream-lined
bundle. 1t propels itself like a sky
rocket by shooting stream of water
from its siphon in the direction op-
posite to its motion.
COlorful In Battle
Occasionally two individuals meet
in seemingly mortal combat, their
tentacles twisted in tangled mass
as they strike at each other with
their murderouS, curved beaks.
When excited, their color patterns,
which normally are changing
through various shades and mot
things of brown, yellow, and tan,
become more vivid, and the warty
prominences Of their bodies project
rigidly. Waves of red, purple, violet,
and blue successfully suffuse the
| body, sometimes standing out in
contrasting colors on different areas
at the same time.
A black, inky fluid may be dis
charged from the siphon, in the
murk Of which the beast conceals
its maneuvers. When the octopus
creeps over a sandy stretch, its
colorS fade to pale tan or grayish