Instant Alert: Humans are just beginning to understand the octopus, and it's mind blowing

MANAGE SUBSCRIPTIONS   |   UNSUBSCRIBE   |   VIEW ONLINE   Humans are just beginning to understand the octopus, and it's mind blowing by Jessica Orwig on Nov 29, 2015, 3:00 PM Advertisement With their eight arms and giant egg-shaped head, octopuses are one of the most alien-looking creatures on the planet. Yet scientists have an extremely difficult time studying them in the wild because these highly intelligent invertebrates are the ultimate masters of disguise. In her book, "Octopus!" Katherine Harmon Courage travels the globe to swim, observe, and even taste some of the many octopuses of the world. Here are 30 mind-blowing facts she learned about this squishy predator of the sea along her epic journey. CHECK OUT: New study could explain why your dog gets so excited to see you LEARN MORE: Tesla's cars and NASA's Mars rovers have this one mysterious material in common Over 95% of all animals on Earth are invertebrates. The octopus is the smartest of them all and has approximately 300 million neurons throughout its body. That's not much compared to the 100 billion in humans, but it's a giant leap from the 16 million in frogs. Octopuses are solitary creatures who spend most of their lives swimming alone, even when it comes time to mate. Some, but not all, types of male octopus will steer clear from a female mate. Instead of getting close, he'll send a package of his sperm to her from a distance, which she'll grab and store for later. See the rest of the story at Business Insider   Share the latest business news with your network: Email sent to:   |   Manage your email preferences   |   Unsubscribe Terms of Service   |   Privacy Policy Business Insider. 150 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10011