Why do octopuses have three hearts?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: Two for gills, one for body
Two for gills, one for body ✓ — Correct! Two branchial hearts pump blood through the gills to pick up oxygen. The main systemic heart pumps oxygenated blood to the body. This helps their copper-based blue blood deliver oxygen efficiently!
Backup if one heart fails — Wrong. The three hearts aren't backups—each has a specific job. Losing one would seriously impair the octopus's circulation system.
Each controls different arms — Wrong. Hearts don't control arms. Octopuses do have neurons in their arms for some independent movement, but hearts only pump blood.
Go deeper: Branchial heart
🚀 Play today's quiz — new questions dailyMore Marine Life questions
- Platypuses and electroreceptive dolphins are passive electroreceptors. What are they reading?
- Platypus bills and some dolphin whisker pits both sense weak electric fields. What pattern is this?
- A nesting sea turtle looks like it is crying. What is the useful job?
- Which organism makes the most of Earth's oxygen?
- Why do sea anemones wave tentacles?
- Why do swordfish have long bills?