Photo by: Getty Images

Getty Images

Octopuses Don't Have Tentacles!

What exactly do these cephalopods have then?

August 01, 2019

Many people refer to octopus limbs as tentacles, but technically, octopuses don't have any tentacles at all! Instead, they have arms. When you're talking about cephalopods, tentacles tend to be much longer than arms and only have suckers at their "clubbed" ends, whereas arms are shorter, stronger, and suckered all the way down. Tentacles also typically come in pairs. Squid and cuttlefish have eight arms plus a pair of feeding tentacles.

This article first appeared on Curiosity.com.

Next Up

An Otterly Adorable Awareness Week

Our southern sea otters at Georgia Aquarium are furry, energetic, and (of course) adorable. They spend most of their days swimming, playing, and eating, but most importantly they inspire our guests to care for our world’s waters.

Year in Review: Nature in Focus Adventures

For many years I've looked back on the year in review and thought about all of the incredible adventures I've experienced and this year is no exception.

Photographing Sequoia National Park with a Smartphone

As a photographer, I love giving myself technical limitations.

How Frogs Boost Their Sex Appeal

Male frogs form ‘boy bands’ to serenade females and woo them into their mating pool.

Great Migrations

Brrrrr it’s getting cold out, the days are shorter and soon it’ll be winter! Fall means that more than 4 billion birds will stream overhead on their fall migration to warmer grounds down south, where they will feed and mate.

Caring for Coral at Georgia Aquarium

Georgia Aquarium is home to a variety of coral species that come in an array of different shapes and colors. The coral reef wall in Georgia Aquarium’s Tropical Diver gallery is one of the largest coral walls in any aquarium. Propagation aquarists at the Aquarium cultivate and transplant live coral from a behind-the-scenes aquaculture pool to the reef wall in their Tropical Diver gallery.

Manatee’s Cousins Have Vanished from the Ocean

Dugongs, the peaceful ‘sea cows’ of the ocean have been declared functionally extinct in China. The vegetarian mammal has vanished from the coastlines of Asia and Africa.

The Highest Animal on the Food Chain: Megalodon Sharks

The now-extinct megalodon and its ancestors may have been "hyper apex predators," higher up on the food chain than any ocean animal ever known.

Is Climate Change Killing More Elephants than Poachers?

Kenya’s Wildlife and Tourism Board has announced that climate change is now a bigger threat to elephant populations than poaching. Kenya is currently facing an extreme drought that is threatening the livelihoods of people and wildlife within the area.

Supertrees That Suck Up More Carbon Could Be Forest Climate Fix

Forestation and tree growth are perhaps the most powerful tool for reducing levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) in Earth’s atmosphere and tackling climate change. Now genetically modified (GM) ‘supertrees’ that grow faster and rapidly take up CO2 could be used to address the climate crisis.