FAQ
A contribution of The Cephalopod Page
| Question: |
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Hi Dr. James Wood, I was visiting The Cephalopod Page - I would like to ask you something. Someone once asked me if octopuses have muscles. I'm not sure so I wanted to check with you. I think they do, because I have seen them moving with their tentacles across rocks outside of the water. Are their muscles like ours? Thanks for answering a curious question. Alicia |
| Answer: |
| Alicia,
Octopuses certainly do have muscles. In fact they have quite a lot of them in their arms and mantle. They are very good at digesting protein (muscle) and store energy in muscle instead of fat - so their metabolism is more protein based than for most other animals. The biggest difference between octopus's muscles and ours is that they do not have bones to attach their muscles to. This allows them to work their arms into tight places and to be very adaptable. However, they don't have the leverage that we have with bones and they can't seem to sense some things like how heavy an object is and they have no frame of reference. Dr. James Wood |